Human-Wildlife Conflict

Unique identifier / Notation

BI0604

Synonyms

Animal-human interaction Human-wildlife interaction HWC

Human-wildlife conflict is defined as struggles that emerge when the presence or behaviour of wildlife poses an actual or perceived, direct and recurring threat to human interests or needs, leading to disagreements between groups of people and negative impacts on people and/or wildlife (IUCN SSC, 2022).

Primary reference(s)

IUCN SSC, 2022. What is Human-Wildlife Conflict? International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force. Accessed 26 March 2025.

Annotations

Additional scientific description

Wildlife can threaten people's safety and livelihoods, which can lead to conflicts between groups of people over how to resolve the situation; experts call this 'human-wildlife conflict' (ICUN, 2022). Wildlife management also entails dealing with human-wildlife conflicts, particularly when there are no fences around protected areas in order to allow for the migration of wildlife species (FAO & UNEP, 2020). Human-wildlife conflict affects most large carnivores, as well as many other species groups including, but not limited to, elephants, pigs, deer, primates, sharks, seals, birds of prey, crocodiles, rhinos, and otters (IUCN SSC, 2024).

Human-wildlife conflicts are becoming more frequent, serious and widespread as human populations grow and habitats are lost (ICUN, 2022). Human-wildlife conflict is a serious global threat to sustainable development, food security, conservation, and health - a concern that is negatively affecting both people and wildlife and hindering the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (IISD, 2021). Impacts on the population of wild animals that are being culled by the affected local populations can have significant consequences (Mozer & Prost, 2023).

In general, the consequences of human-wildlife conflict include destruction of crops, reduced farm productivity, competition for grazing lands and water, livestock predation, injury and death to farmers, damage to infrastructure and increased risk of disease transmission from wildlife to livestock (FAO, 2023a).

Human-wildlife conflict often triggers negative sentiments towards conservation, especially when protected areas are being established or expanded (FAO and UNEP, 2020). With specific reference to forests, a high density of large ungulates, for example, deer, can cause severe damage to the forest and can threaten regeneration by trampling or browsing small trees, rubbing against trees or stripping tree bark (FAO, 2016).

The interface between humans, domestic animals, and wild animals can also be a source of disease, impacting local and global public health and the social and economic well-being of communities and the world population. Diseases transmissible from animals to humans through direct contact or through food, water, and the environment, are commonly referred to as 'zoonoses' It recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent (WHO, no date a).

While health, food, water, energy and environment are all wider topics with sector-specific concerns, the collaboration across sectors and disciplines contributes to protecting health, addressing health challenges such as the emergence of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and food safety and promoting the health and integrity of ecosystems. One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems (WHO, no date a).

By linking humans, animals and the environment, One Health can help to address the full spectrum of disease control - from prevention to detection, preparedness, response and management - and contribute to global health security. The approach can be applied at the community, subnational, national, regional and global levels, and relies on shared and effective governance, communication, collaboration and coordination. Having the One Health approach in place makes it easier for people to better understand the co-benefits, risks, trade-offs and opportunities to advance equitable and holistic solutions (WHO, no date a).

Metrics and numeric limits

Some 60% of emerging infectious diseases that are reported globally come from animals, both wild and domestic. Over 30 new human pathogens have been detected in the last 3 decades, 75% of which have originated in animals (WHO, 2023).

Key relevant UN convention / multilateral treaty

Convention on Biodiversity Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of 2022. The vision of the framework is a world living in harmony with nature, where “By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people” (CBD, 2022).

UNEP collaborates with biodiversity-related conventions and scientific bodies. The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international, legally binding treaty covering biodiversity at all levels: ecosystems, species and genetic resources. It also covers biotechnology through the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The Convention recognizes that biological diversity is about more than plants, animals and micro-organisms and their ecosystems. It is about people and the need for food security, medicines, fresh air and water, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment in which to live (CBD, 2022

UNEP also works closely with and hosts the Secretariats of:
• the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, 1979)
• the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 1963)
• the Inter-governmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). https://www.ipbes.net/about

Quadripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed for a new era of One Health collaboration (2022) The four international agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), have signed a groundbreaking agreement to strengthen cooperation to sustainably balance and optimize the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment (WHO, 2022).

Drivers

Human-wildlife conflict often severely impacts the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the people who support wider conservation goals, and affects many nations trying to align with, and benefit from, conservation and development programmes (IUCN SSC, no date).

Impacts

Conflicts between humans and wildlife, and between humans over wildlife, have occurred since the dawn of humanity. However, in many regions these conflicts have intensified over recent decades as a result of human population growth and the related expansion of agricultural and industrial activities. Conflicts have also arisen due to the growth of some wildlife populations and the presence of certain species (e.g. red fox, wild boar) in urban environments,1as well as a recurrent inability of institutions to manage such conflicts effectively. Climate change is exacerbating these conflicts through, for example, increased competition for water and habitats (FAO, 2023b).

Additionally, 75% of emerging pathogens are of zoonotic nature. Progress towards global health security requires a greater focus on the interface between humans and animals and a strong collaboration between the human health and the animal health sectors (WHO, no date b).

Multi-hazard context

The figure below summarises common interactions between human-wildlife conflict and other hazards. This information should be used with caution and not be solely relied upon in Disaster Risk Management, particularly as some interactions may not have been included. Note that hazardous events occurring together or locally in space or time may not necessarily cause, amplify, or be otherwise related to each other. Specific examples of multi-hazard context can be found in the ‘Hazard drivers’ and ‘Impacts’ sections above.

Multi-hazard diagram

Hazard diagram for human-wildlife conflict

Risk Management

As many countries tackle this multi-faceted challenge, the issue of human-wildlife conflict is starting to be considered in national policy and strategies for wildlife, development, and poverty alleviation. However, there is a need to improve the sharing and transfer of knowledge, adopt a more inclusive and interdisciplinary approach, and greatly increase cross-sectoral collaboration among forestry, wildlife, agriculture, livestock, and other relevant sectors at the national level (FAO, 2023a).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) actively supports the efforts of Member countries to better manage human-wildlife conflicts by facilitating cross-sectoral dialogues among stakeholders for sharing information; generating guidance on good practices; providing technical guidelines for the development of national policies and legal frameworks; and implementing field activities (FAO, 2023a). Examples include:

In response to related requests by the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission, FAO has produced a series of educational technical publications, ranging from a general overview of HWC in Africa to more specific reports on elephant, lion, baboon and crocodile conflicts (FAO, 2023a).
FAO, in collaboration with CIRAD, BIO-HUB, WWF, and CAMPFIRE Association, developed a human-wildlife conflict toolkit in 2012. The toolkit has a range of resources designed for use by rural farmers and local communities and addresses all dimensions of HWC. It has been field-tested in FAO Technical Cooperation Programme projects in Zimbabwe and Mozambique and delivered through training workshops in the Southern, Central and Eastern Africa subregions. To raise awareness in Zimbabwe, an HWC management interpretation centre – funded by FAO and partners – was established in the Mukuvisi woodlands and officially opened in 2014 (FAO, 2023a).
In Central Africa, a national strategy and action plan was developed in Gabon, and a subregional workshop was held to adopt the HWC toolkit produced for Southern Africa. This led to the production of a prototype for the Central African subregion in collaboration with CIRAD and the Network of Protected Areas of Central Africa (FAO, 2023a).
In Botswana’s North-West District, in 2019, FAO supported local communities to monitor areas with community scouts, fortify predator-proof traditional bomas and engage local communities in wildlife-based tourism. In Zimbabwe, FAO and partners have helped local authorities and affected communities to formulate a human-wildlife mitigation strategy, promote sustainable natural resource management for alternative livelihoods and vaccinate livestock against Foot and Mouth Disease (FAO, 2023a).
In relation to the formulation of HWC case-specific policies and strategies, technical government officials from 11 African countries came together in 2019 for an FAO-organized multisectoral dialogue in Ghana, where policy priorities and cross-sectoral actions to address human-wildlife conflict were mapped out (FAO, 2023a).
Currently, FAO is supporting field initiatives in several countries of the Southern African region, including Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana (FAO, 2023a).

Many international organisations are involved in sustainable wildlife management. The FAO Forestry Department has served as the secretariat for the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) since 2013 and actively engaged in a wide range of the CPW’s initiatives as a proactive member of the Partnership (FAO, 2023b).

Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) is a voluntary partnership of 13 international organizations with substantive mandates and programmes to promote the sustainable use and conservation of wildlife resources. The CPW, established in March 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand, provides a platform for addressing wildlife management issues that require national and supra-national responses and also works to promote and increase cooperation and coordination on sustainable wildlife management issues among its members and partners (FAO, 2023b).

The mission of the CPW is to increase cooperation and coordination on sustainable wildlife management issues among its members, where such adds value, in order to promote the sustainable management of terrestrial vertebrate wildlife in all biomes and geographic areas, contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and to human food security, livelihoods and well-being (FAO, 2023b). It has the following thematic objectives

To support countries to ensure that the use and trade of wildlife is legal, sustainable and safe;
To raise awareness of the links between sustainable use of wildlife, food security, livelihoods and well-being, culture and the integrity of landscapes;
To promote the prevention, management and reduction of human-wildlife conflict and enhance coexistence;
To embed the sustainable use and management of wildlife in the One Health agenda; and
To advocate for sustainable and inclusive wildlife economies (FAO, 2023b).

WHO works together with international organizations and national institutions in charge of animal health to improve the rapid detection of emerging pathogens and to ensure coordination in rapid control measures. By strengthening the contribution of the veterinary sector in the implementation of the IHR (2005), WHO and its partners propose guidance, methods, and tools to jointly review synergies and gaps in the coordination between the two sectors and to support countries in the operationalization of a multisectoral, One Health approach for global health security (WHO, no date a).

In the context of the renewed interest from Member States to strengthen work on One Health and prevention of emerging zoonoses and the work of WHO Governing bodies on One Health, the WHO One Health Initiative team was set up to serve as the Secretariat of One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), WHO coordination mechanism for its One Health activities and the quadripartite collaboration (WHO, no date a).

Investing in One Health contributes to WHO’s vision to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. WHO works to integrate the One Health approach into the global health narrative, grounded in strong political leadership, technical expertise and inclusive implementation led and owned by countries (WHO, no date a).

WHO and partner organizations are working to increase the adoption of the One Health approach in national, regional and international health policies through intersectoral political and strategic leadership; operationalizing responses and scaling up of country support, including research and policy assessment; strengthening country capacities; and monitoring of risks and preparedness for early detection and response to emerging pathogens (WHO, no date a).

Through the combined energies of the Quadripartite organizations (FAO, OIE, UNEP & WHO), a comprehensive One Health Joint Plan of Action is in development, supported and advised by the One Health High-Level Expert Panel. The Plan aims to mainstream and operationalize One Health at the global, regional and national levels; support countries in establishing and achieving national targets and priorities for interventions; mobilize investment; promote a whole-of-society approach; and enable collaboration, learning and exchange across regions, countries and sectors (WHO, no date a).

Monitoring

Surveillance that monitors risks and helps identify patterns across these many areas is needed. In addition, new research should integrate the impact of these different fields, particularly on the drivers that lead to crises. For example, to implement One Health, major structural changes are required to integrate the human, animal and environmental health fields and support multi-sectoral communication, collaboration, coordination, and capacity strengthening (WHO, 2023).