World Forestry Congress highlights human-wildlife conflict

An increasing human-wildlife conflict is posing a major threat to sustainable wildlife management, delegates at a Wildlife Forum held during the XIV World Forestry Congress (WFC) heard on Wednesday.

Coordinated by the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPonSWM), the forum heard that well managed wildlife can play a pivotal role in food and livelihood security by providing nutrition and income, and contribute considerably to the alleviation of poverty in addition to maintaining and enhancing the ecological stability of forest ecosystems.

However, in many regions, conflicts between human and wildlife are intensifying as a result of human population growth and encroachment into wildlife areas.

"Loss of crops and livestock, damaged infrastructure, injury and death are all potential impacts of human-wildlife conflict, and wildlife species may be killed to prevent these negative impacts, which in turn can affect the ecosystem,"said Eduardo Mansur, Director of Forest Assessment, Management and Conservation Division of Food and Agriculture Organization of UN.

"Without adequate management of ecosystems and wildlife, species can also transmit pathogens to humans and livestock, while common livestock diseases such as brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis can have serious negative effects on wildlife populations," Mansur noted.

The forum heard that local communities adversely affected by wildlife species must engage in the process of developing a response to human-wildlife conflict.

"Communities are more likely to be tolerant of wildlife and damage caused if their losses are compensated, either directly by governments or conservation organizations, or in kind, for example by being legally recognized as stewards of wildlife on their own land and retaining some of the income generated from tourism,"said Mansur.

Human-wildlife conflict was also the topic of one of two CPonSWM fact sheets launched during the forum, with the other fact sheet focusing on sustainable wildlife management and animal health.

Delegates discussed the need for strong inter-agency collaboration, adequate legislation and the deployment of novel and innovative approaches to counter wildlife and forest crime.

They agreed that successful wildlife management requires meaningful participation of communities, policymakers and other stakeholders.

The forum also heard the results of new studies on the use of wild meat in tropical areas in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well as ideas for research to achieve sustainable and responsible consumption and trade of bush-meat.

The Wildlife Forum brought together various players in the sector including United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations. Enditem