Human Wildlife Conflict across Landscapes

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce a forthcoming Special Issue of Diversity entitled “Human Wildlife Conflict across Landscapes”.

Examples of situations that may provoke human wildlife conflict. Upper left: human and wild boar (Sus scrofa) in the city of Berlin, Germany, upper right: two puff adders (Bitis arietans) during a mating ritual on a street close to the city of Windhoek, Namibia; lower left: a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) patrolling a fence on a reserve in Namibia; lower right: African elephant (Loxodonta africana) crossing a tarred road in South Africa; all photos: Thomas Göttert

Human wildlife conflict is a complex phenomenon and an urgent issue of our time. On one hand, there is a growing human population, which goes along with the increase in human demands on a limited pool of natural resources. Societies are currently reflecting on the degree of these limitations and the fragility of ecosystems (e.g., biodiversity crisis). On the other hand—and as a result of these reflections—we are experiencing an increasing environmental awareness and appreciation, which goes hand in hand with efforts to better protect biodiversity and natural resources (e.g., transboundary protected area networks). While these two developments are in some ways going in different directions, they both have the potential to create new or intensify existing human wildlife conflicts.

In order to address the complexity and nature of this topic, it seems advisable to approach it from different perspectives. Consequently, the topic calls for multi-perspective and transdisciplinary approaches, including ecological, socioecological, socioeconomic, and sociocultural research concepts. Viewing these conflicts through a local lens and in a case-specific context is important but does not always comply with the complexity of the underlying phenomenon. This is especially true when it comes to transregionally or globally occurring forms of conflict, for example, in terms of carnivore-livestock conflicts. The aim of this Special Issue is to encourage and provide inspiration for cross-regional and cross-landscape approaches. Against this background, it is important to exemplify the various types of existing conflicts in different contexts, as well as encourage the discovery and better understanding of fundamentally valid mechanisms and generally applicable strategies.

Therefore, I cordially invite you to submit a manuscript focused on these or related topics. Please let me know if you are interested in this opportunity or have any questions.

Dr. Thomas Göttert
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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