SYMP 12-1 - Human-wildlife Coexistence, Human Wellbeing, and Inclusive Conservation: A case study on Human-Elephant Conflict in Thailand

Globally, interactions between humans and wildlife may have adverse outcomes for human health and well-being, environmental justice, conservation, and ecosystem sustainability. In order to address outcomes associated with human-environment interactions, it is critical to better understand the broader social, political, and historical contexts that influence the inequitable distribution of costs and benefits of living with wildlife.

We investigate these relationships in the Tenasserim Hills of Thailand as part of a collaborative multi-country approach to understanding human-elephant conflict and coexistence. Based on community-led efforts to diversify crops and minimize conflict with elephants, this research examines the factors that influence exposure and vulnerability to conflict and the impact of various strategies to manage conflict between small-holder farmers and elephants.

Taking a broad approach to understanding the system, we rely on a critical social-ecological science lens that fills gaps in theory and applied conservation concerning Asian elephant movement and activity, park-people relations, and human-wildlife conflicts. We employ a combination of quantitative survey instruments, participatory social science methods, ethnographic approaches, camera trapping, and direct elephant observation to better human-elephant interactions within the landscape.

While alternative crops represent a potential strategy for sharing the landscape with elephants, the capacity and interest in pursuing this strategy is linked to a variety of socio-cultural, environmental, economic, and psychological factors that vary widely across households. We further identify approaches for long-term collective action to increase feasibility and risk minimization, and social justice considerations when scaling up such efforts.