Special Issue Call for Papers:

Human-wildlife conflicts (HWCs) occur when wildlife species of conservation concern pose a direct and recurrent threat to the livelihood or safety of people with whom they share landscapes. People often retaliate against wildlife involved in HWCs. Consequently, HWCs can be grave social problems and a major threat for the conservation conflict-prone wildlife species.

 

HWCs are wicked socio-ecological problems that rarely can be solved. In most cases, the management goal is keeping HWC intensity under tolerable levels for both people and wildlife. Certain global socio-ecological trends intensify HWCs. For example, the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats enhance contact between people and wildlife, thus, increasing the risk of conflict. The emergence of a global conservation ethos has also changed the way local communities can respond to their conflicts with wildlife, often creating feelings of disaffection and hostility against conservation among local communities.

 

Global interest on how to manage HWCs to promote coexistence is gaining unprecedented momentum. At the end of 2022, HWCs were explicitly included in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, with its Target 4 stating ‘Ensure urgent management actions, to […] and effectively manage human-wildlife interactions to minimize human-wildlife conflicts for coexistence’. And, in March-April 2023, the IUCN’s Specialist Group on Human-Wildlife Conflicts and Coexistence is organizing the first international conference exclusively dedicated to this topic.

 

For more information or questions, please contact Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz (ahimsa@xtbg.ac.cn) and/or the Integrative Conservation Editorial Office (integrative.conservation@xtbg.ac.cn).

 

SI Keywords: Compensation, Deterrence, Competition, Mitigation, Socio-ecological systems, Tolerance

 

Submission Deadline: 15 August 2023