Human-wildlife conflict is a shockingly common problem, often with enormous consequences for both individual animals and entire populations.
When human-wildlife conflict comes to mind, you may immediately think of wildlife crime instead - which isn't wrong, since many regions with wildlife crime problems like poaching are also areas where people may frequently deal with human-wildlife conflict, causing the two issues to go hand-in-hand. But human-wildlife conflict is a much broader issue encompassing many ways that human presence and interference can cause problems for us and animals alike. Human-wildlife conflict includes:
- Elephants trampling a farmer's crops, resulting in retaliation
- New real estate developments infringing on ecosystems where predator species live, leading to predators having less territory and less food, which in turn leads to predators attacking domestic animals and livestock
- Freeways dividing the territory of animals like mountain lions, leading to wildlife venturing into neighborhoods or being killed by cars
- Lead bullets used in hunting causing scavengers like condors to die of lead poisoning
These are just a few examples of how humans can negatively impact wildlife, and it's clear to see how many of these scenarios could escalate. Human-wildlife conflict solutions don't just include ways in which we can prevent these issues (for example, through tracking predators, monitoring populations' territories, or building barriers and wildlife crossings monitored by sensors), but also the ways in which we can help people connect with wildlife and care about learning to live alongside them.
If you're interested in solutions that can prevent human-wildlife conflict, join this group and get to know the people who are working to protect and save species around the world!
Header image: Casey Allen on Unsplash
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- @Helga_Kuechly
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World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
I am a Geo-ecologist, who loves to use GIS, remote sensing, citizen science and knowledge transfer to shape for a better future for nature - We are part of nature, so let's act like it!
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Director of Icoteq Ltd, an electronics and software design consultancy developing wireless products and solutions to organisations working in the conservation, wildlife monitoring and anti-poaching sectors. Developers of the TagRanger® novel wildlife tracking products.
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- @tom_august
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Computational ecologist with interests in computer vision, citizen science, open science, drones, acoustics, data viz, software engineering, public engagement
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Ranger Campus
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"Founder of Worker Bees Africa, advancing bee conservation through innovation."
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World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
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Wildlife researcher
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- @CitlalliMJ6
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Conservation biologist, executive director at the Tesoro Escondido Reserve Foundation in the Ecuadorian Chocó, working on participatory action research, environmental education, primate and amphibian conservation
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- @MorenaRodriguez
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A commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. ILIOT values the environment and acknowledges the importance of protecting it for the well-being of present and future generation
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Article
Thermal Sensor Project Update: Testing with live animals at the San Diego Zoo
Arribada Initiative
The winners of our Human Wildlife Conflict Tech Challenge are offering regular updates throughout the year to chronicle their failures, successes and what they learn along the way as they develop their solutions. In...
27 July 2018
Article
HWC Tech Challenge: Smart Electric Fence Solution
WILDLABS Admin
As people continue to move into natural habitats, conflicts between human beings and wildlife continue to rise. Although there are a number of early-detection systems and tools in place to prevent human-wildlife...
5 June 2018
Article
HWC Tech Challenge: Thermopile Sensor Project
Arribada Initiative
Conflict between humans and wildlife is increasing as human communities expand and wild habitats are destroyed, prompting need for new mitigation techniques. As a winner of the Human Wildlife Conflict Tech Challenge,...
19 April 2018
Article
‘The Field’… Say the words ‘The Field’ to a group of conservationists and it will immediately conjure up vivid memories of everything from sticky wet rainforests to burning dusty deserts. What’s more, it’s almost...
17 January 2018
Article
FIT Cheetahs
Larissa Slaney
A new research project is looking to investigate whether technology combined with the ancient skills and knowledge of Namibian trackers can help save cheetahs from extinction. Called FIT Cheetahs, the research project...
4 December 2017
Article
HWC Tech Challenge Winners Announced
WILDLABS Team
We are delighted to announce that British conservation technologist Alasdair Davies and the Dutch team of Laurens de Groot and Tim van Dam from the ShadowView Foundation are the winners of the first international Human...
1 November 2017
Article
HWC Tech Challenge Update: Meet the Judges
WILDLABS Team
Our panel of international experts has been hard at work reviewing the 47 proposals we recieved for innovative technological tools to address human wildlife conflict. The panelists have systematically been assessing the...
20 October 2017
Article
Download New Conservation Tech Guidelines: Camera Traps, Acoustics and LiDAR
Paul Glover-Kapfer
The inherent complexity of not only deploying technologies in the field but also doing so in a scientifically rigorous manner can prove a substantial barrier for the effective use of conservation technologies, and clear...
11 October 2017
Article
DAS: A Scaleable Solution For Protected Area Management
WILDLABS Team
The Domain Awareness System (DAS) is a revolution in monitoring technology, creating real-time awareness of protected areas assets. This technology has the potential to completely change standard monitoring procedures...
26 September 2017
Article
Elephant's Banquet
Femke Hilderink
Human-wildlife conflict can be difficult to understand without knowing its impact on people and communities. In this case study, authored by community member and Human Wildlife Conflict Tech Challenge coordinator Femke...
19 September 2017
Article
Earlier this year, WILDLABS community member Shashank Srinivasan was involved in an operation to capture the Pilibhit man-eater. In this account, he shares how they successfully managed to tranquilize and capture the...
10 August 2017
Article
Frustrated by the limitations of the tools that were available for managing large camera trap data sets, Heidi Hendry and Chris Mann set out to develop something that met their needs, and thus, Camelot was born. In...
7 July 2017
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Wildlife Drones
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi @Tim+Vedanayagam Thank you for posting this. I'd be happy to contribute to the thermal sensing work under way. Can you confirm - have you built a thermal AI model... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 5 years 2 months ago | |
| A neoteric solution:- ADSMO(HWC): https://youtu.be/yG0Z5HaL_tc |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 5 years 6 months ago | |
| Hi everybody! The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force, the Global Environment Facility-funded and... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 5 years 6 months ago | |
| Thanks Drue for your valuable input. This is certainly not to encourage killing venomouse snakes. We can actually incorporate the featurs you pointed out to save venomouse... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 5 years 7 months ago | |
| Tusk are illegally traded by the poachers for earning profit out of it. This needs to be stopped. |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 5 years 9 months ago | |
| Hi Aditya, If you haven't already found it, you should check out our last virtual meetup, it was all about tools and spaces for collaboration and we featured a number... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 5 years 11 months ago | |
| Cool idea Ashwan. Looks similar to the virtual parks idea that Laurens is leading. Have you seen it? Also check out rewilding.io and get an entry in to the contest! |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 6 years 2 months ago | |
| A very good summary all-round Nilanga. Only a wholistic approach can truly resolve conflict. |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 6 years 3 months ago | |
| Hi all, We often think about complicated tools when people refer to the use of tech in conservation. But mobile phones can be highly... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 6 years 3 months ago | |
| Thanks both for your comments, very interesting indeed! Also great to hear that so many people are eager to get involved in this kind of research and will participate with great... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 6 years 3 months ago | |
| Dear Femke, I am actually looking for studying the crop damages using drones and also tracking the movements, may be using GPS collars. But I do not actually know about these... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 6 years 4 months ago | |
| Dear Femke, Thank you for your email. I hope I can hear from Mohan Raj. Electric fencing is one area where it can play very important role in human wildlife conflict management... |
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Human-Wildlife Conflict | 6 years 4 months ago |
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Mobile Phone Reporting for Rapid Wildlife Health Response in Uganda
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The Impact of the Internet of Things
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