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What we do

Aims & Objectives

The IUCN SSC Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force (HWCTF) is an interdisciplinary advisory group that aims to support professionals working on human-wildlife conflict by providing interdisciplinary guidance, resources, and capacity building. The HWCTF was established with the aim of fostering links between policy, science, and communities, and assimilating knowledge and capacity for human-wildlife conflict management across the IUCN Commissions and Members.

The HWCTF’s objectives are to: 1) act as an advisory body on matters of human-wildlife conflict that can provide a platform for the exchange of best practice; 2) facilitate interdisciplinary approaches to human-wildlife conflict mitigation by encouraging the collaboration of experts from many different fields; and 3) build capacity by developing technical or framework guidance materials, training workshops and learning platforms. To this end, the HWCTF has developed an online resource library, piloted training courses on human-wildlife conflict, is currently developing the IUCN SSC Guidelines on Human-Wildlife Conflict, and will be running a major cross-sectoral International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence in April 2020.

Outcomes

The HWCTF endeavours to work towards the following outcomes:

  1. help increase understanding and awareness of the complexities of conflict
  2. facilitate more collaboration between practitioners and policy, science and community
  3. catalyse more resources and effort committed to good human-wildlife conflict management
  4. encourage proactive and preventative mitigation of emerging human-wildlife conflicts
  5. work towards the integration of effective human-wildlife conflict policies into major biodiversity and development agendas

Activities

The activities of the HWCTF towards the above aims and outcomes include:

  • developing interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships in human-wildlife conflict regionally and globally, across SSC groups, IUCN Commissions and beyond
  • providing advice or assistance to organisations or governments working on human-wildlife conflict where possible and appropriate
  • acting as a think tank on latest issues in human-wildlife conflict, leading and partnering with researchers and organisations and new thinking to support policy and best practice
  • maintaining a resource library of literature, manuals and materials on human-wildlife conflict
  • developing, designing, facilitating or participating in workshops, seminars, talks, events, symposia & networking opportunities on human-wildlife conflict around the world
  • producing an IUCN definition and position statement on human-wildlife conflict
  • facilitating inclusion of human-wildlife conflict in global policy forums such as the post-2020 biodiversity framework, and national strategies
  • preparing the IUCN SSC Guidelines on Human-Wildlife Conflict, and assist other IUCN SSC groups in the development of their taxon-specific human-wildlife conflict guidelines or policies
  • leading and organizing the International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence in April 2020

Membership

IUCN SSC Task Forces are technical advisory groups working on specific guidance, policy and other outputs, which necessarily requires a small working group able to dedicate significant amounts of their voluntary free time towards the work of the Task Force. Unlike many SSC Specialist Groups, Task Forces are small and the limited membership openings are set specifically to fill particular subject or regional expertise needs. The HWCTF is not currently taking on further members into the group while we are focussed on drafting the IUCN SSC Guidelines on Human-Wildlife Conflict and preparing the International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence in April 2020.

Contacts

The IUCN SSC Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force is chaired by Dr Alexandra Zimmermann. The Programme Officer of the Task Force is Dr James Stevens. Please direct any enquiries to us at info@hwctf.org.