When tourism meets pastoralism: smallholder livelihood dilemmas and overgrazing in the fragile Tien-Shan montane grasslands

Rapid shifts in land-use policies and environmental conditions have made overgrazing a significant challenge to the sustainability of China’s fragile drylands, particularly the Tien-Shan montane drylands. In this region, subsistence pastoralism increasingly intersects with tourism development. To assess the idea that “smaller pastures lead to better tourism and less overgrazing”, we surveyed 30 pastoral households managing small (<33 ha), medium, and large (>53 ha) pastures in two villages where tourism is expanding and grassland degradation is evident in the western Tien-Shan mountains. Over the past two decades, the grassland vegetation in the studied area has experienced homogenization, degradation, and fragmentation. Households with smaller pastures tended to maintain higher livestock densities to support tourism infrastructure, which in turn intensified overgrazing. In contrast, larger-pasture households relied on traditional grazing methods, resulting in lower levels of overgrazing but less income from tourism. Medium-pasture households attempted to grow forage grasses to balance both livelihoods, albeit with limited success. Despite these differing strategies, all groups achieved comparable annual incomes. This creates a paradox where increased tourism revenue in smaller pastures corresponds to intensified overgrazing. Our findings suggest that the coexistence of tourism and pastoralism presents challenges to grassland sustainability, particularly when smallholders fragment pastures for tourism purposes. We argue that balancing these livelihoods in fragile ecosystems demands collaborative management approaches integrating traditional pastoral practices with equitable tourism planning.