The great challenge of coexistence with wildlife

Global biodiversity is going through a dramatic crisis, caused by the destructive action of human activities. In the last 50 years, wild animal populations have collapsed by 73%, as documented in the biennial Living Planet report produced by the WWF and the Zoological Society of London. The loss of biodiversity threatens not only ecosystems, but also the well-being and development of our communities , because our life depends largely on nature. To reverse this trend, it is not enough to protect a part of the planet, as Edward O. Wilson proposed in his book Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life where the great scientist launched the proposal to protect at least 50% of the Planet, to guarantee the survival of wild species. In addition to creating protected areas, it is essential to bring conservation closer to us: to the edges of our farmlands, in the urban outskirts and even inside cities. In a country like Italy, shaped by millennia of human activity, imagining a clear separation between natural spaces and anthropized spaces is unrealistic.

Unlike North America, where there are vast parks (the Yellowstone Park is larger than Umbria), without settlements, Italy is a mosaic of closely interconnected towns, cities, cultivated fields and forests. This context explains the increasingly frequent encounters with wild boars, roe deer, wolves and bears on the outskirts of inhabited centers . Presences that arouse curiosity and wonder, but also fear and conflict. An emblematic example is that of the bears reintroduced in Trentino from Slovenia at the end of the 1990s. Trentino, despite being rich in natural areas, is also a densely populated region with high tourism pressure. Interactions between bears and humans are inevitable, and coexistence requires complex interventions to contain risks and prevent conflicts . Unlike North America or Tanzania, where a separation between areas reserved for wildlife and others intended for agriculture and grazing is possible where predators are often removed, in Italy – and in much of Europe – coexistence is more intricate and challenging.

It is not just an Italian challenge. Conflicts between wild animals and human communities are growing everywhere . So much so that this issue is formally included in the Global Biodiversity Framework, the action program adopted by the United Nations, which in 2022 included goal 4, which asks the countries of the world to stop the extinction of species, to protect the genetic diversity of life and – indeed – to reduce conflicts between humans and animals , as a necessary path to protect wild species and the safety of communities. Urban and agricultural expansion leads to an increasing number of interactions: elephants that devastate crops, leopards that enter Indian cities, bears that rummage through waste, or wild boars that search through dumpsters in Rome. In India alone, every year more than 500 people die in clashes with elephants, tigers, sloth bears and leopards – and often, animals also pay the price for conflicts with their lives, killed by farmers or inhabitants of rural areas. As Alexandra Zimmermann , one of the world’s leading experts on human-wildlife conflict, points out, addressing the problem requires more than ecological management alone: ​​social, cultural and participatory approaches are needed. It requires building trust, relying on solid science and engaging communities in finding shared solutions. If we want to protect biodiversity, we need to address its fragilities at their roots – including conflicts between wildlife and humans. Coexistence is not a romantic ideal, but a real challenge, often made up of difficult decisions.

As Luigi Boitani , one of the world's leading experts on conservation, said, "coexistence is a compromise." It requires investment, political will, effective communication, and public awareness. It is also necessary to accept that, in some cases, it will be necessary to intervene actively - even to the point of killing individuals of wild species, for example to remove dangerous individuals or to contain excessive impacts on human activities. Managing conflicts between wildlife and humans is an example of conservation . This word, which for many is synonymous with protection and safeguarding, is actually much more. The IUCN, the world's oldest environmental organization, defines conservation as "The management of human use of the biosphere so that it provides maximum sustainable benefit to current generations, while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations." To ensure a future for biodiversity, we will have to go beyond safeguarding and protecting, getting our hands dirty to ensure wise use of resources, and also reducing conflicts.

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