The challenge of achieving human-wildlife coexistence in 30x30

Nations of the world agreed to conserve 30% of Terrestrial and Marine habitats by 2030 (known as 30x30). This expansion of Protected and Conserved Areas (PCAs), will increase the frequency and risk of conflict between humans and wildlife. The burden of HWC falls most heavily on low-income rural communities that co-exist with wildlife. This poses a challenge to the achievement of 30x30 in an effective, equitable, and inclusive manner.  Our Task Force in the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) builds on the efforts of the IUCN SSC Specialist Group on HWC and is exploring the incorporation of HWC considerations into management standards for PCAs as part of 30x30.Our taskforce will focus on the IUCN Green List for Protected and Conserved Areas (IUCN Green List) as one example of how human wildlife coexistence considerations can be incorporated into a PCA management standard. The IUCN Green List has a broad scope and widespread application to PCAs worldwide in a wide diversity of contexts.

Building on Existing Work

The IUCN Species Survival Commission Human-Wildlife Conflict Specialist Group is currently developing overall global guidelines to address this need. In light of the global commitments to  30x30 there is a pressing need to interpret and adapt these SSC developed guidelines, together with other relevant frameworks for existing area-based conservation standards such as the IUCN Green List.

Aims of the Task Force

(1) Evaluate the IUCN Green List and other PCA management standards and determine where and how Human Wildlife Co-existence considerations, where they exist, are captured. (2) Incorporate feedback from local experts and other relevant local stakeholders after the piloting of the proposed additional elements of the Green List, including considerations for the time and resource requirements necessary for implementation. (3) Scope and evaluate whether there are other standards for PCAs for which this additional module on human wildlife co-existence could be useful.

Background and Earlier Work

Background work on this standard commenced in 2018, in an initiative co-funded by the Luc Hoffmann Institute and Griffith University, Australia, led by Duan Biggs, which worked to explore the feasibility of and develop a standard for Human Wildlife Co-existence. Efforts included discussions and engagement with the IUCN SSC Task Force for Human Wildlife Conflict, the IUCN Green List for Protected and Conserved Areas (hereafter the IUCN Green List), IUCN CEESP, Conservation Assured Standards, WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and numerous others. In addition, a scoping report on the state of knowledge and practice on human-wildlife conflicts was conducted by independent researchers from the University of Aberdeen, University of Stirling and Umea University, that reviewed key knowledge gaps and advised on the development of a standard particularly with respect to the IUCN Green List. Interviews and workshops were also conducted with community, NGO, tourism and government stakeholders were held in Namibia to trial a process focused on mental models as further input into the development of the standard – which was impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic. e.g., see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgcVhPjxgpc&t=6s

In February 2021, an international online event with over 50 participants from a range of participants from including IUCN CEESP, SSC, and WCPA, representatives from various international NGOs including community representatives and multi-lateral bodies discussed and work shopped how connecting to a management and governance standard could strengthen the achievement of sustainable and inclusive human wildlife co-existence. The background research and outcomes of this event and work can be found below.  

For more information please contact our task force on: humanwildlifewcpa@gmail.com

This Task force is co-chaired by Duan Biggs and Isla Hodgson.

IUCN Taskforce Website