Why we founded the Network.
Throughout the continent, conflict between Indigenous communities, wildlife, and conservation institutions has led to the loss of tropical biodiversity.
Active in Rwanda, Uganda and soon Tanzania, the HWC Research Network aims to expand its footprint across Eastern Africa to bring together key stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, individuals with lived experience, and policymakers, to collaborate and develop transformative solutions that promote coexistence between humans and wildlife.
A new approach is needed…
Although extensive research and mitigation efforts have been made, there is still a lack of understanding of the causes and consequences of wildlife conflict and the most effective solutions. Additionally, current conflict mitigation policies in most African countries are reactive, ineffective, and short-term. A new approach must address these limitations and promote sustainable coexistence between humans and wildlife. This requires government policies based on up-to-date scientific data on conflict drivers and effective conflict resolution strategies that consider the social influences contributing to conflict.
However, the current landscape of wildlife conflict research and international partnerships in Africa is dominated by non-African experts, leading to a lack of representation and trust among policymakers and Indigenous and Local communities on the continent.
Challenges
Indeed, African scholars, both social and ecological scientists, are often excluded from these efforts, undermining their potential contribution to global coexistence policies and resource distribution. Additionally, African researchers and practitioners working on human-wildlife conflict operate in isolation, making it challenging for policymakers and coexistence activists to access their research and engage them actively in the global coexistence debate.
Our Research Network aims to address these issues by mobilizing African scholars and practitioners, enhancing African HWC research capacity, establishing long-term socio-ecological research programs, and actively involving local communities in developing effective conflict management solutions. Through these efforts, we strive to bridge the gap between academia, policymakers, and local communities, fostering collaboration and inclusivity in addressing human-wildlife conflict in Africa.
Together, we seek to empower Indigenous and Local communities to take the lead in managing the human-wildlife conflict in Eastern Africa.
About the Human-Wildlife Co-existence Research Network
The Human Wildlife Co-existence Research Network on Africa helps to address the critical issue of biodiversity loss and the potential threat to the economic and social stability of the region. The Network brings together key stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, individuals with lived experience, and policymakers, to collaborate and develop transformative solutions that promote coexistence between humans and wildlife.
By leveraging the expertise of diverse actors and generating new knowledge through research, the Network fosters evidence-based decision-making that balances the conservation of wildlife with the needs and aspirations of East African communities. In addition, the Human-Wildlife Co-existence Research Network for Africa promotes knowledge sharing and capacity building, enhancing the skills of local researchers and practitioners to address the challenges of human-wildlife conflict more effectively. The organisation also co-develops programmes and initiatives with communities that uplift their current activities.
“Our main mission is to serve as a strategic platform for coordination and collaboration, leveraging the collective strength of stakeholders to achieve a common goal of sustainable development and conservation in East Africa.
Through this initiative, the region can ensure that it achieves its conservation objectives while promoting economic growth and social well-being.
Taking a participatory approach…
Our work takes a bottom-up participatory approach to creating strategy, action plans, and engagement to ensure that the local community and stakeholders are actively involved in developing and implementing solutions to HWC issues in East Africa.
This approach helps build trust, promote ownership, and ensure the solutions are context-specific and sustainable. By involving local institutions and stakeholders in the longitudinal research studies and monitoring of key HWC indicators, the Network will foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the East African region and beyond. We are convinced that bottom-up participatory approaches align with best practices in stakeholder engagement and can contribute to the success of the Human Wildlife Conflict Co-existence Research Network for Africa in achieving its objectives.
How do we add value?
Due to the complex nature of human-wildlife conflict, the Human Wildlife Co-existence Research Network aims to adapt to internal and external knowledge advancements. As is the case with conflict mitigation, the Network’s objectives are to add value to the quality of the human-wildlife relationship in East Africa by focusing on the following outcomes:
-
Our team will create an active and trusted local research centre for HWC transformation with local and international networks.
-
Analysis has suggested that there is a disconnect between academic, policy, and community approaches.
The Network seeks to rectify this disconnect by creating research into practice and policy – and vice versa. It will accomplish this task by convening multiple stakeholder groups and creating spaces that incite innovation and discussion.
-
Too often, lived experience is excluded from practitioners' work (academics, advocates, and government officials); the Network works to create participatory approaches that enable community connection internally and externally.
The organisation seeks to ensure that higher portions of the community affected by wildlife conflict are able to access practitioners and convene with one another.
-
To ensure all parties (regionally and globally) are able to convene and discuss regularly, the Research Centre and Network will create a free and easily accessible website in which knowledge can be shared and discussed.
Our Leadership
-
Edwin Sabuhoro
Assistant Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, Penn State University
-
Ian Munanura
Associate Professor of Forest Ecosystems & Society, Oregon State University
-
Ida Djenontin
Assistant Professor of Geography, Penn State University
-
Stephanie Lvovich
Managing Director, Shared Planet
-
Jim Ayorekire
Senior Lecturer of Tourism Planning and Management, Makerere University, Uganda
-
John T. Mgonja
Associate Professor of Tourism and Recreation, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
-
Geoffrey Riungu
Lecturer of Tourism, Hospitality & Events Management, Moi University, Kenya
Contact
Feel free to contact the East Africa Regional Center and Network secretariat with any questions.
Email
Stephanie Lvovich - Stephanie.lvovich@Sharedplanet.co.uk