Anuradhi Dulangi Jayasinghe
Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a widespread challenge for conservation and a growing problem for communities living within or close to Protected and Conserved Areas (PCAs). By reducing the acceptance of conservation measures, HWC limits the effectiveness of the PCAs. With expanding populations and global commitments to expand PCAs through 30x30 goals to protect 30% of the planet for nature by 2030, increasing conflicts seem inevitable and must be managed. Nevertheless, a mere focus on mitigating conflicts would displace the conflict or temporarily control the damage caused by the conflict. Even successful conservation outcomes can increase HWC. For instance, increasing Tiger populations due to conservation success in Nepal resulted in increased Human-Tiger conflicts. Hence, conservation must be aimed at mitigating HWC while promoting the benefits of Human-Wildlife Coexistence (HW-Coexistence), where humans and wildlife co-adapt to living in shared landscapes. How the existing conservation governance promotes HW-Coexistence is rarely scrutinised. There is a gap in how communities initiate and implement coexistence strategies due to the complexity and multiplicity of variables in place. Hence, scholars must identify new research approaches to address these gaps.
This research will develop a roadmap towards mainstreaming coexistence in conservation science, policy and practice. The proposed study will understand the dynamic nature of HW-Coexistence as attributed to the social contexts of those communities interacting with wildlife. And those social contexts will be explained through values, rules, and knowledge. Furthermore, based on Mekonen’s (2020) definition of HW-Coexistence, while coexisting Human-wildlife interactions (HWI) need to be governed by effective institutions. Therefore, this study further suggests that for those governing institutions to be effective, the social contexts described earlier must be embedded in those governing institutions. Hence, PCA standards (with a particular focus on IUCN Green List standards) will be reviewed to study their local adaptability and inclusion in promoting HW-Coexistence. This study uses a multi-method approach that includes an ethnographic from a selected study site adjacent to national parks in Sri Lanka, a review of the IUCN Green List Standards based on the ethnographic data, a literature review and structured interviews with conservation policymakers and research scientists.
The research findings will significantly contribute to the conservation literature by shedding novel light on the underpinning social contexts of the Global South communities interacting with wildlife. Furthermore, the findings will provide insights into reviewing global conservation standards to research their local adaptability and potential to promote HW-Coexistence to achieve conservation targets.