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Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) have long co-existed with livestock herding people across Asia's high mountains. Multiple use landscapes however imply potential competition for shared resources, livestock predation, and the risk of retaliatory killing of predators. Community-based conservation is a central pillar for supporting people's livelihoods and safeguarding predators and their habitat. Based on the theory of planned behavior, we examined the factors that shape herders' tolerance of snow leopards. Our questionnaire-based study was conducted in the Sanjiangyuan Region, China, encompassing four communities with varying livelihoods, experiences with livestock depredation and levels of exposure to community conservation interventions. Our results showed that respondents generally held positive views towards snow leopards, although women tended to have relatively more negative views towards snow leopards compared with men. Current household income was largely dependent on caterpillar fungus rather than livestock. Social norms around religion and the role of community leaders in our study area seemed to be the main determinants of the generally benign association of people with wildlife, overshadowing potential influences of community-based conservation interventions. Our work suggests that conservations programs will be aided through collaborations with communities and religious institutions, and that conservationists must proactively engage with women as significant actors in conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Economic incentives to simultaneously address poverty and biodiversity loss may fail if they do not align with local values or norms. Grazing livestock across the Tibetan Plateau's vast but fragile grasslands is often characterized as the area's primary driver of habitat degradation. China's grassland restoration policy provides eco-compensation subsidies for herders, with the assumption that providing extra cash income will help alleviating grazing pressure. We investigated potential impacts of this supplementary income, in combination with caterpillar fungus, a major local cash income source, on the pastoral livelihood on the Tibetan Plateau. Through field livestock census in seven communities and household livelihood interviews with 153 households we found that at both household and valley levels, eco-compensation didn't have the intended effect of reducing grazing pressure, while caterpillar fungus income has significant positive relationships on grazing intensity. Meanwhile, we found significant decrease of above-ground plant biomass after policy implementation was linked with low-elevation pastures with most intensive grazing, which indicated a negative impact of grazing on grassland condition at our study sites. Further, based on herdsmen's perceptions on different cash income sources we suspected those non-pastoral incomes might have even subsidized pastoralism. We suggested future economic incentives related to grassland restoration should be more targeted towards villages with low cash income and overgrazed grasslands, with clearly stated responsibilities and obligations, instead of standardized cash payment. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]