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From Conflict to Coexistence?: Rethinking Human-Wildlife Relations through China-Africa Experiences 
Convenors:
Yu Luo (University of Puget Sound)
Gao Yufang (Yale University)
Tashi Sangpo Ju
Wen Zhou (Yale University)
Thandiwe Mweetwa (Zambian Carnivore Programme)
Xiang Zhao (Shanshui conservation centre)
Rachel DeMotts (University of Puget Sound)
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Format:
Roundtable
Sessions:
Monday 25 October, -
Time zone: Europe/London

Short Abstract:

This roundtable problematizes the dichotomy between the conventional "conflict" discourse and the emerging "coexistence" discourse in wildlife conservation. We consider conflict and coexistence as relational from indigenous perspectives in the Chinese, African, and cross-continental contexts.

Long Abstract:

In the past decade or so, academic and public discourses about human-wildlife relations have arguably witnessed a paradigm shift from "conflict" to "coexistence." Scholars, practitioners, and policymakers in wildlife conservation have realized the need to go beyond the nature-culture dichotomy by considering human and wildlife as interdependent rather than independent. However, there is still much need to problematize the dichotomy between the conventional "conflict" discourse and the emerging "coexistence" discourse. This roundtable considers conflict and coexistence as relational, not oppositional, in human-wildlife interactions, by probing into the underlying assumptions about human, wildlife, and their intricate relations. How are conflict and coexistence conceptualized based on different perspectives and experiences?

This roundtable uses an interactive format to encourage conversations between anthropologists, political ecologists, conservationists, and local representatives. We highlight an interesting juxtaposition of anthropology and conservation biology over the past decade, wherein the former has reflected on its anthropocentric roots by reconsidering more-than-human relations and the latter has shifted from preserving dehumanized wilderness to engaging local communities and livelihoods. Drawing from case studies in the Chinese, African, and cross-continental contexts, we pay attention to indigenous perspectives -- often overlooked by policy interventions that have rendered locals into conservation subjects through technical approaches to conflict resolution. This roundtable thus takes into account the ambivalence and complexity of locals’ attitudes towards different wildlife species, the integrated landscapes that are not characterized by separated habitats or resource competitions between species, and the power dynamics and decision making in how we treat nonhuman species.

Accepted participant details:

Session 1 Monday 25 October, 2021, -
Roundtable Video visible to paid-up delegates