AVBS3004: Human/Wildlife Conflict Notes

Definition: HWC occurs when actions by humans or wildlife negatively affect each other (Conover, 2002).
Refined Definition: Situations where conflicting opinions clash over conservation objectives, with one party perceived to prioritize its interests over another (Redpath et al., 2013).
- Involves:
  - Human-wildlife interactions: direct impacts between humans and wildlife.
  - Human-human interactions: Conflicts between conservationists and those with incompatible goals.

Driver: The specific event triggering the conflict (e.g., crop destruction by elephants).
Underlying Causes: Variables that lead to the conflict event.
- Ecological:
  - Habitat loss.
  - Habitat fragmentation.
  - Loss of prey species.
- Anthropogenic:
  - Encroachment on wild habitats.
  - Limited preventative measures.
  - Cultural values/beliefs.

Casualty/Fatality:
- Retaliatory killings of problem animals/species.
- Population decline.
- Loss of genetic diversity.
Fragmentation: Habitat disruption.
Behavior Change:
- Altered movement and activity patterns to avoid conflict.
Impacts on Ecosystem Functions:
- Removal of apex predators/keystone species.

Casualty/Fatality:
- Examples:
  - 800 people killed by lions in Tanzania (1990-2004).
  - >400 people killed by elephants annually in India.
Impact on Livelihoods:
- Examples:
  - Elephant damage worth around $3M$ per year in India.
  - $€2.5M$ per year damage from wolves in 5 European countries.
Hidden Costs:
- Diminished wellbeing.
- Opportunity costs.
- Transaction costs.
Social Consequences:
- Increased polarization.
- Decreased trust.

Direct Costs:
- Loss of livestock/crops.
- Loss of human life.
- Loss of wildlife.
Indirect Costs:
- Time spent preventing wildlife damage.
- Money spent on prevention.
Opportunity Costs:
- Income foregone due to wildlife presence.

Ecological/Conservation Management Approach:
- Focus: Managing wildlife populations and their direct impacts, using scientific knowledge and ecological principles.
Social Science/Development Approach:
- Focus: Addressing the impacts of conflict on human lives and livelihoods, and changing human behavior.

Three Key Assumptions (Kansky and Knight, 2014):
- Wildlife damage is directly related to the level of conflict.
- The response is proportional to the level of damage.
- Appropriate mitigation leads to support for conservation.
Possible Solutions:
- Lethal control.
- Translocation.
- Guard animals.
- Fencing.
- Monitoring.
- Education.
Direct Costs as Major Problem Area (Woodroffe et al., 2005):
1. Crop raiding.
2. Livestock depredation.
3. Predation on managed wildlife.
4. Killing humans.

Studying human/predator conflict requires research into the movements and behaviour of humans and predators.
Key Questions:
- How to measure and compare relevant ecological and social data?
- What ecological and social variables indicate higher risk levels?
- Can these be use to improve mitigation?
- What data to include (hits vs misses)?
- How to best communicate findings?

Ethical Dimension:
- Conservation should not harm, and ideally improve, the wellbeing of the most vulnerable.
Research Focus:
- Attitudes of stakeholders affected by wildlife.
- Changing negative attitudes towards damage-causing wildlife.
- Designing interventions more likely to be supported.
Possible Solutions:
- Theory-based solutions (e.g., theory of planned behavior).
  - Discover the norms, beliefs, and attitudes shaping behavior.
  - Develop ways to change negative behaviors.
- Quantify costs and benefits of living with wildlife.
- Devise policies and incentives to minimize costs and maximize benefits to local people.

Conflicts of interest: Differing desires for the same resource (e.g., timber vs. biodiversity).
Conflicts over beliefs and values: Differing normative perceptions (e.g., which species to conserve).
Conflicts over process: Different approaches to decision-making and fairness (e.g., consensus vs. authoritarianism).
Conflicts over information: Lack of information or differing perceptions (e.g., scientific vs. traditional ecological knowledge).
Structural conflicts: Cultural, economic, legal, and social arrangements (e.g., rich multinational vs. grass-roots organization).
Interpersonal conflicts: Personality differences impacting communication and trust.

Map Conflict:
- Identify stakeholders.
- Map stakeholder values, attitudes, and goals.
- Gather scientific evidence.
- Identify impacts (social, ecological).
- Understand wider context (e.g., legislation).
Manage Conflict:
- Identify appropriate process.
- Agree on aims of process.
- Identify alternative solutions & trade-offs.
- Test solutions: Are they effective?
- Share findings widely.
- Apply adaptive management (monitor and feed back program success/failure).
- Establish stakeholder engagement.
  - If yes, solution is negotiated.
  - If no, solution is manage imposed conflict.
  - If a solution is adopted, win-win.
  - If not, identify appropriate trade-offs or process (repeat cycle).

Intangible costs (e.g., psychological costs) are more important than tangible costs in explaining attitudes towards dangerous wildlife.
Positive attitudes do not always translate to sustainable practices.
Financial incentives may not be universally applicable.
Little research exists on intangible benefits or hidden costs.

Analytical "stakeholder" categories do not always capture complexity
Socio-demographic variable are insignificant predictors in attitude, but culture/tribe was.
European interpretations of HWC often fail to comprehend local cultural ideas about animals.

Western conservation may fail to capture the complicated and often ambivalent ways in which local people relate to wildlife, particularly large predators
Lion hunts promote positive attitudes towards lions amongst the Maasai people, where hunting a lion is part of a coming-of-age ceremony
Lions are usually afforded a measure of tolerance as killers of livestock due to this cultural tie, with the idea that lions are moral and reasonable animals

Value for people who live alongside them.
- Aesthetic appreciation and intellectual curiosity
- Economic costs and benefits (tourism)
- Social and spiritual considerations
Conservation interventions in human-wildlife conflicts are adding new actors to, and engaging with, long-standing, co-produced interactions among humans and animals