Understanding the prospects of human-wildlife coexistence: a conceptual framework

Abstract

Human-wildlife interactions can range from reverence to extreme conflict. Conservationists have come to the realization that humans and wildlife have always coexisted together in shared landscapes across the globe. Thus, understanding and acting upon the prospects of human-wildlife coexistence (HWCo) is now a crucial component of biodiversity conservation to sustain it. HWCo is a state where humans and wildlife share spaces by exposing each other to tolerable levels of risks and disadvantages. HWCo transpires as a result of interplay between a number of perceived and behavioral factors, some of which are interdependent on one another. Through this framework, we find ways to identify these factors, which can then be used to evaluate HWCo and understand the drivers of HWCo. Therefore, the current article focuses on changing this paradigm in HWCo research. We suggest three continuums involving three crucial factors viz., space-use by wildlife, daily activity pattern of wildlife, and human attitude towards wildlife, be used to obtain a cumulative value signifying HWCo for a particular species/taxon in a shared landscape. We propose that these factors be measured simultaneously on a predefined scale, which will allow it to become relative, and will further allow cross-site comparisons. This preliminary framework is expected to enable scientists and researchers to visualize the complexity and dynamicity embedded within human-wildlife interactions through modeling. The evaluation on a continuum is especially effective when positive or negative interactions between humans and wildlife are not obvious.