Focus Area
Environmental Conservation
Location
Snow Leopard habitats across Central and South Asia
Beneficiaries
Rural herder communities vulnerable to livestock loss due to snow leopard predation
Safavi's Role
Partner-funded through Snow Leopard Trust
Key Impact
100+ families protected through financial compensation and conservation agreements; reduced retaliatory killings of snow leopards
Project Overview
The Livestock Insurance initiative is a conservation-driven solution designed to reduce human-wildlife conflict in fragile snow leopard habitats. This program directly addresses the economic hardship caused by livestock losses due to snow leopard predation—losses that can devastate families living on less than $2 a day. By providing a safety net through locally managed insurance pools, the initiative helps prevent retaliatory killings and supports coexistence between communities and wildlife.
Beneficiary Profile
The primary beneficiaries are rural herder families living in remote, high-altitude regions across Central and South Asia, including parts of Mongolia, Pakistan, India, and Kyrgyzstan. These families rely heavily on their livestock for sustenance, income, and security. Their livelihoods are closely tied to the delicate ecosystems they inhabit, making them both stewards and stakeholders in snow leopard conservation.
Safavi's Role
Safavi supports this initiative through funding and strategic alignment with the Snow Leopard Trust. While the program is implemented and locally managed by the communities themselves, Safavi’s financial contribution helps sustain the foundation of the insurance pool and enables broader ecosystem conservation efforts. This partnership model empowers local leadership, encourages long-term sustainability, and ensures the community’s full ownership of both the problem and the solution.
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Project Gallery
Photo Credit: Livestock Insurance
Impact Achieved
More than 100 families have accessed financial compensation for livestock losses, reducing economic vulnerability.
No reported retaliatory killings in participating communities since the program began.
Local conservation agreements have protected critical wild prey species and reduced pressure on grazing lands.
Increased participation in graze-free land agreements to support wild prey recovery.
Incentives for best practices in herd protection have boosted community vigilance and safety.
Purpose & Signifigance
This initiative embodies Safavi’s belief in solutions that balance human needs with ecological integrity. By transforming a point of conflict into a shared opportunity, the Livestock Insurance program ensures that communities are not forced to choose between survival and conservation. Supporting this work reflects Safavi’s commitment to innovative, community-led models that preserve biodiversity and improve lives in tandem.
Future Outlook
The initiative continues to scale across new communities within snow leopard range countries. Future goals include expanding participation, improving claims processing technology, and funding more graze-free land offsets. Safavi will remain a committed partner in funding and advocating for this model to be replicated in other regions facing similar predator-human conflict challenges.
