Assessment of Human–Wildlife Conflict Patterns and Community-Based Conservation Strategies for Sustainable Coexistence

Abstract

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is an enduring and escalating problem in the world of conservation that emerges when the need for space and resources of human beings and wildlife clash with each other. In this systematic review of literature, the state-of-the-art on the HWC, including its patterns and causes, effectiveness of interventions used to address it, compensation mechanisms, and impact of community-based conservation approaches on HWC have been discussed. Factors causing HWC are varied and include ecological, social, economic, and institutional elements. Scholarship in this area has moved from focusing solely on HWC to addressing it within the framework of coexistence and the need for integration and participatory approach rather than technical solutions. There is inadequate evidence on the effectiveness of common interventions due to the absence of well-controlled studies. The results of a systematic evaluation of compensation and governance tools from four continents reveal that although monetary compensation increases short-term tolerance, it alone fails to reduce conflict incidence, and lasting coexistence takes place only if compensation is part of governance frameworks that include prevention, participation, and land-scale planning. Community-based natural resource management efforts, in particular communal conservancies, that yield direct financial and non-financial gains from tourism and trophy hunting activities, are one such practical illustration of this holistic strategy and have the potential to balance economic motivations of local communities with conservation goals. In summary, these findings clearly show that for sustainable coexistence to take place, both scientific evidence-based mitigating measures and proper governance systems must be put into practice.