HUMAN WILDLIFE INTERFACE
The Human Wildlife Interface theme engages in interdisciplinary research that applies social science theories and methods to understand and manage wildlife conservation issues. We investigate causes of human-wildlife conflicts, and conduct research with key stakeholders to determine which policy, management or economic interventions could help to mitigate these conflicts and promote wildlife conservation on private and communal lands. Predation of livestock and domestic animals and crop damage by wildlife undermine people's willingness to conserve wildlife or to manage their land for wildlife. Wildlife damage to people's property, legal restrictions on how people may use their land because of the presence of wildlife and fear of wildlife may lead to illegal or retaliatory killing of wildlife and the deliberate conversion of wildlife habitat to other uses to preemptively prevent wildlife using land.
We investigate how legal and illegal trade in wildlife affects people and wildlife, and how trade in wildlife can be used to attain sustainable use of wildlife and improved economic and social welfare for landowners and communities in South Africa. The legal trade in wildlife (e.g. game farming, community-based tourism, the pet trade) generates multiple economic and social benefits that may help to motivate people to conserve wildlife. The South African government is committed to building the biodiversity economy, in order to conserve wildlife, habitat and resources while also securing improved economic and social welfare in South Africa. However, the full benefits and costs of wildlife trade are not fully understood. Poaching and illegal trade in wildlife remain a threat to wildlife conservation.
Both in South Africa and globally, people place value on the conservation of wildlife species. Understanding this value is important for making decisions on how to allocate resources to wildlife conservation. We use environmental economic methods to determine the value that people place on the continued use and existence of wildlife.
Some of the projects that have been conducted by colleagues within the Human Wildlife Interface theme include private landowners’ opinions of, and willingness to engage in, legal trade in rhino horn in South Africa, the decision of farmers to protect oribi on their lands, the vulnerability of community members to predators. This theme is led by Assoc Prof. Elizabeth F. Pienaar who specialises in Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conservation & Environmental Economics and is based at the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida.
