We’re pleased to announce that the IUCN SSC Steering Committee has appointed the Task Force as a permanent Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. We will now be called the IUCN SSC Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence Specialist Group. This reflects the clarification of our remit which focuses on both conflict and coexistence with and about wildlife, and our growing role as a permanent international advisory body of IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Since the Task Force was formed, we have developed a range of resources, documents and platforms for disseminating information, including the IUCN Library on Human-Wildlife Conflict, a Position Statement on the Management of Human-Wildlife Conflict and a Briefing Paper and definition of human-wildlife conflict. We have piloted training courses on human-wildlife conflict, and we are currently finalising the IUCN SSC Guidelines on Human-Wildlife Conflict. We also prepared a major cross-sectoral International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence, originally planned to be held in April 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our aims and objectives remain as before, with activities in the next phase building on achievements to date and focussing on the following:
Finalising and publishing the IUCN SSC Guidelines on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence, including consultation and pilot testing, publication, dissemination and engagement
Supporting and actively assisting other IUCN SSC groups in various ways on the matter of HWC, e.g. the development of their own taxon-specific HWC guides or policies
Acting as a focal point for national and international policy instruments on human-wildlife conflict-related matters, particularly the IUCN Resolution on human-wildlife conflict and the human-wildlife conflict-related Target and Indicators in the UN CBD Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
Expanding and maintaining the IUCN Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence Library – a frequently updated, comprehensive, multi-lingual online resource library of publications, books, videos, and other materials visited by readers in over 190 countries
Providing a quarterly IUCN Human-Wildlife Conflict newsletter providing the latest publications, news about events and other HWC-related information
Leading and organising the International Conferences on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence
Leading and/or facilitating Virtual Events linked to the International Conference to engage a wider community and facilitate learning and networking in human-wildlife conflict matters
Acting as a Think Tank on the latest issues in human-wildlife conflict, leading research & new thinking to support policy & best practice, publishing papers as appropriate
We’re looking forward to the next phase of this group. To stay updated, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and ResearchGate and receive quarterly updates via our Newsletter.
