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Human–carnivore conflicts and retaliatory killings contribute to carnivore populations' declines around the world. Strategies to mitigate conflicts have been developed, but their efficacy is rarely assessed in a randomized case–control design. Further, the economic costs prevent the adoption and wide use of conflict mitigation strategies by pastoralists in rural Africa. We examined carnivore (African lion [Panthera leo], leopard [Panthera pardus], spotted hyena [Crocuta crocuta], jackal [Canis mesomelas], and cheetah [Acinonyx jubatus]) raids on fortified (n = 45, total 631 monthly visits) and unfortified (traditional, n = 45, total 521 monthly visits) livestock enclosures (“bomas”) in northern Tanzania. The study aimed to (a) assess the extent of retaliatory killings of major carnivore species due to livestock depredation, (b) describe the spatiotemporal characteristics of carnivore raids on livestock enclosures, (c) analyze whether spatial covariates influenced livestock depredation risk in livestock enclosures, and (d) examine the cost‐effectiveness of livestock enclosure fortification. Results suggest that (a) majority of boma raids by carnivores were caused by spotted hyenas (nearly 90% of all raids), but retaliatory killings mainly targeted lions, (b) carnivore raid attempts were rare at individual households (0.081 raid attempts/month in fortified enclosures and 0.102 raid attempts/month in unfortified enclosures), and (c) spotted hyena raid attempts increased in the wet season compared with the dry season, and owners of fortified bomas reported less hyena raid attempts than owners of unfortified bomas. Landscape and habitat variables tested, did not strongly drive the spatial patterns of spotted hyena raids in livestock bomas. Carnivore raids varied randomly both spatially (village to village) and temporally (year to year). The cost‐benefit analysis suggest that investing in boma fortification yielded positive net present values after two to three years. Thus, enclosure fortification is a cost‐effective strategy to promote coexistence of carnivores and humans. Carnivore raid attempts at individual households are quite rare, but fortified bomas are effective in reducing carnivore raids. Spotted hyena was the main carnivore raiding livestock bomas, and the raids increased in the wet season compared with the dry season. Owners of fortified bomas reported less hyena raid attempts than owners of unfortified bomas. None of the landscape and habitat variables tested appeared to strongly drive the spatial patterns of spotted hyena raids in livestock bomas. Livestock boma fortification is cost‐effectiveness strategy to promote carnivores and human coexistence.

Biodiversity conservation is one of the most important objectives of protected areas. Most biodiversity assessment-related studies use the change in species abundance data to measure the level of biodiversity conservation. Yet for many areas, long-term species data are not available and thus it is necessary to use biodiversity indices to monitor the effect of land use (LU) changes or the impact of protected area establishment. Poyang Lake wetland is one of the most important wintering sites for migratory water birds on the East Asian-Australasian flyway. To protect this habitat, 14 nature reserves were created in the region between 1997 and 2003. This paper aims to assess the effect of nature reserve creation on the status of habitat for overwintering water birds in Poyang Lake wetland by analysing LU and land cover data from 1995, 2005 and 2015. We developed a composite biodiversity index to search for current biodiversity hotspots (conservation priority) in the study area. An integrated approach consisting of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs model, GIS, fragment analysis and hotspot analysis was used to realize our objective. Our results showed that the creation of the nature reserve had positive effects on overwintering water bird habitat. However, tremendous changes (such as change of habitat area, quality and fragmentation) within and outside the nature reserve showed that the role of protected area still needs to be further discussed. Moreover, regional synthesis LU management plans such as ecological restoration should be carried out. The results of the habitat assessment also indicate that a comprehensive biodiversity index framework based on net primary productivity, habitat connectivity and habitat quality could be more efficient in assessing biodiversity and defining a reasonable protected area, from data obtain in large scale perspective.

Urbanization causes tremendous pressure on biodiversity and ecosystems at the global scale. China is among the countries undergoing the fastest urban expansion. For a long time, ecological environment protection has not been a priority in China's urban planning process. Current urban growth optimization research has some limitations regarding the selection of more scientific ecological constraint indicators and the interaction between urban expansion and ecological factors. This paper at first aimed to establish a reasonable comprehensive biodiversity constraint indicator based on the indicators of net primary productivity, habitat connectivity and habitat quality, and then conducted a case study in Beijing and compared biodiversity loss and urban growth patterns under different developing situations. The integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs model and GIS-related methods were used to obtain biodiversity and ecological spatial distribution layers. Then an ecological priority-oriented urban growth simulation method was proposed to search for minimum biodiversity loss. The results showed that the important biodiversity security areas were mostly distributed in the western part of the study area and that the ecological degradation in 2000 had a radial pattern and was well in line with the urban construction and ring road distribution patterns. Meanwhile, biodiversity loss with the biodiversity constraint was much less than actual urban growth in 2000-2010. Under the guidance of ecological optimization, urban growth in the research results reflects decentralized and multi-center spatial development characteristics. This type of urban growth not only provides a new model for breaking the inertia of urban sprawl but also proposes 'biodiversity security' as an applicable regulatory tool for urban planning and space governance reforming.

Understanding the spatio‐temporal distribution of ungulates is important for effective wildlife management, particularly for economically and ecologically important species such as wild boar (Sus scrofa). Wild boars are generally considered to exhibit substantial behavioral flexibility, but it is unclear how their behavior varies across different conservation management regimes and levels of human pressure. To analyze if and how wild boars adjust their space use or their temporal niche, we surveyed wild boars across the core and buffer zones (collectively referred to as the conservation zone) and the transition zone of a biosphere reserve. These zones represent low and high levels of human pressure, respectively. Specifically, we employed a network of 53 camera traps distributed in the Schaalsee UNESCO Biosphere Reserve over a 14‐month period (19,062 trap nights) and estimated circadian activity patterns, diel activity levels, and occupancy of wild boars in both zones. To account for differences in environmental conditions and day length, we estimated these parameters separately for seven 2‐month periods. Our results showed that the wild boars were primarily nocturnal, with diurnal activity occurring dominantly during the summer months. The diel activity patterns in the two zones were very similar overall, although the wild boars were slightly less active in the transition zone than in the conservation zone. Diel activity levels also varied seasonally, ranging from 7.5 to 11.0 h day−1, and scaled positively with the length of the night (R2 = 0.66–0.67). Seasonal occupancy estimates were exceptionally high (point estimates ranged from 0.65 to 0.99) and similar across zones, suggesting that the wild boars used most of the biosphere reserve. Overall, this result suggests that different conservation management regimes (in this case, the zoning of a biosphere reserve) have little impact on wild boar behavior. This finding is relevant for wildlife management in protected areas where possibly high wild boar densities could interfere with conservation goals within these areas and those of agricultural land use in their vicinity. In this study, we analyzed whether wild boars adjust their space use or their temporal niche according to spatial differences in management within a biosphere reserve. We employed a network of 53 camera traps distributed in the Schaalsee UNESCO Biosphere Reserve over a 14‐month period (19,062 trap nights) and estimated the circadian activity patterns, activity levels, and occupancy of wild boars in the conservation and transition zones; these zones represent low and high levels of human pressure, respectively. Wild boars were primarily nocturnal, diel activity levels were positively correlated with the length of the night and did not differ markedly between zones; occupancy estimates were high and were similar in both zones . Overall, these results suggests that different conservation management regimes (in this case, the zoning of a biosphere reserve) have little impact on wild boar behavior.

Although biodiversity conservation is a prioritized topic globally, agreements and regulations at multiple levels often fail to meet the desired effects due to insufficient knowledge transmission about and tolerance toward environmental protection measures among the public. To find effective measures to solve human–wildlife conflicts (HWCs) and promote a sustainable coexistence, it is essential to gain the public's understanding of the importance of preserving biodiversity. To spur progress in solution‐oriented conservation science, we examine how citizen science (CS) can complement research in the HWC field and coexistence/mitigation strategies. We find that CS (1) is an effective tool for gathering wildlife data and (2) empowers citizens to participate in or drive (in a bottom‐up manner) wildlife research and management. Each HWC has a unique social, economic, and geographical context, which makes it challenging to find appropriate mitigation measures. We developed a Global and Local Geographic (GLG) model that provides practical guidelines for implementing CS in HWC research. We argue that the inclusion of youth is fundamental to achieving coexistence between people and wildlife; thus integrating CS into formal education or including an educational component in CS projects can support the sustainable conservation of wildlife species and foster environmentally aware future generations.

Human activities are continuously expanding at a global scale and having an increasing effect on the remaining natural ecosystems in remote areas, such as the Magellan Region of southern Patagonia, Chile. In addition to extensive livestock holdings, aquaculture and tourism are advancing into formerly undisturbed areas, and insufficient information on the spatial scope and intensity of these alterations is available to inform and support conservation policies. The aim of this study was to spatially analyse the degree, scope and spatial distribution of anthropogenic alterations. Accordingly, two spatially explicit indexes, the degree of anthropogenic alteration (DAA) and human influence index (HII), have been applied. The results show a significant spatial overestimation of the remaining undisturbed natural areas. Despite low population densities and extensive conservation designations, a major share of the total area has been anthropogenically altered. Depending on the measure type, between 53.1 % (DAA) and 68.1 % of the area (HII) needs to be considered as influenced by human activity in some way. Our findings challenge previous studies by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS and CIESIN in Last of the wild project, version 2, 2005 (LWP-2): last of the wild dataset (Geographic), NASA socioeconomic data and applications center (SEDAC), Palisades, 2005 ). Their worldwide assessment of pristine natural environments indicated that a much smaller part of the Magellan region has been subject to human influence. The chosen methodologies represent an opportunity to detect and monitor human influence at small spatial scales, which has heretofore remained unnoticed. Because such alterations are becoming more frequent in remote regions, the assessment approaches presented here provide important information on human–environment interactions to support land-use and nature conservation policy design. In addition, small-scale structures and different types of economic activities are considered to support policies that can protect the remaining natural areas from human encroachment. Moreover, implications of the proposed methodology for biodiversity conservation policy are discussed.

As wild areas disappear and agricultural lands expand, understanding how people and wildlife can coexist becomes increasingly important. Human–wildlife conflicts (HWCs) are obstacles to coexistence and negatively affect both wildlife populations and the livelihood of people. To facilitate coexistence, a number of frameworks have been developed to both understand the drivers of conflict and then to find solutions that mitigate conflict. However, each framework has different foci and strengths in particular stages of analysis. Here, we propose an integrated framework that leverages the individual strengths of previously fairly isolated methodologies, allowing for holistic HWC analysis. The framework for participatory impact assessment (FoPIA) provides a toolset for developing wildlife scenarios, selecting assessment indicators and assessing the impact of different scenarios. The social‐ecological framework of ecosystem services and disservices (SEEDS) analyzes the ecosystem services trade‐offs related to scenarios, and the 3i stakeholder analysis approach, supports the identification of stakeholders and provides a mechanism to explore, in detail stakeholders' interests, relative influence, and how outcomes of research are likely to impact different stakeholders. We apply these approaches to eastern Germany, where the increase in several wildlife populations (i.e., wild boar, common crane, gray wolf, and European bison) has contributed to conflict with people. We demonstrate the complementarity of FoPIA, SEEDS, and 3i in identifying stakeholder needs and showing how wildlife dynamics may affect coexistence and create imbalanced ecosystem service and disservice distributions. The integrated framework introduced here provides guidelines for analyzing the multistage process of stakeholder participation and enables a comprehensive approach to the complex challenge of HWCs.

In modern landscapes, the sustainable coexistence of humans and wildlife depends on involving stakeholders in the development and implementation of management strategies. This is particularly important for species like the European bison (Bison bonasus) and Eurasian moose (Alces alces), which are reoccupying regions between Germany and Poland after a prolonged absence. The return of these species generates mixed emotions, as interactions with these species are associated with both costs and benefits to people. Addressing the apparent unpreparedness in managing these trade‐offs, we implemented a digital participatory impact assessment in two steps. First, we engaged bison and moose experts to develop management scenarios and assessment criteria. Then, in a subsequent virtual workshop, stakeholders evaluated four scenarios along economic, social, and ecological dimensions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed divergent perspectives and priorities, yet consensus emerged on the necessary future steps: formulating a comprehensive management strategy with guidelines and protocols for managing specific conflict scenarios, such as the incursion of large herbivores onto highways. Our approach underscores the importance of early stakeholder engagement in fostering a more equitable and sustainable management of human‐wildlife interactions. Moreover, demonstrating the feasibility of remote stakeholder involvement, our study presents a robust model for enhancing coexistence, adaptable even where in‐person meetings are challenging. Describing the Status quo of Bison and Moose populations in the German‐Polish border regions, the objective of the study, a simplified workflow through the methods. A graphical depiction of the discussed management scenarios is included, as well as summarized results and recommendations for decision makers.

Crop raiding by African elephants (Loxodonta africana) jeopardizes human livelihoods and undermines conservation efforts. Addressing this issue is particularly important in subsistence farms adjacent to protected areas and requires assessing the perceived and actual scale of the problem and the benefits, limitations and adoption potential of mitigation techniques. To achieve these objectives, we assessed the effectiveness of chili and beehive fences relative to control plots, using a daily farm monitoring protocol implemented on 20 farms bordering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania). Prior to the field study, we interviewed 65 farmers about human–elephant interactions and contrasted interview findings with those of daily farm monitoring. Farmer perception of crop raiding frequency declined with increasing distance from the protected area and was, on average, eight times greater than daily farm monitoring data indicated. The majority of interviewees expressed a willingness to try chili or beehive fences, though chili fences were preferred. Generalized‐linear‐mixed models indicated that neither elephant farm intrusions nor damages were significantly reduced by either chili or beehive fences relative to the control sites. Losses per month and hectare did not differ significantly by fence type. However, farm plots with chili fences did not experience massive damages which occasionally occurred in beehive or control plots. This partial effectiveness of chili fences was further confirmed by contrasting crop losses from a subset of farms that were subject to a cross‐over experimental design. Our multidimensional case study suggests that chili fences have greater adoption potential than beehive fences. Nevertheless, additional efforts are required to increase effectiveness and to realize adoption potential. By providing insights into the context and circumstances that presented challenges to the effectiveness, sustainability and scalability of beehive and chili fences, this study can serve as reference for areas where crop raiding by elephants is a key conservation conflict.

Monitoring is a prerequisite for evidence‐based wildlife management and conservation planning, yet conventional monitoring approaches are often ineffective for species occurring at low densities. However, some species such as large mammals are often observed by lay people and this information can be leveraged through citizen science monitoring schemes. To ensure that such wildlife monitoring efforts provide robust inferences, assessing the quantity, quality, and potential biases of citizen science data is crucial. For Eurasian moose (Alces alces), a species currently recolonizing north‐eastern Germany and occurring in very low numbers, we applied three citizen science tools: a mail/email report system, a smartphone application, and a webpage. Among these monitoring tools, the mail/email report system yielded the greatest number of moose reports in absolute and in standardized (corrected for time effort) terms. The reported moose were predominantly identified as single, adult, male individuals, and reports occurred mostly during late summer. Overlaying citizen science data with independently generated habitat suitability and connectivity maps showed that members of the public detected moose in suitable habitats but not necessarily in movement corridors. Also, moose detections were often recorded near roads, suggestive of spatial bias in the sampling effort. Our results suggest that citizen science‐based data collection can be facilitated by brief, intuitive digital reporting systems. However, inference from the resulting data can be limited due to unquantified and possibly biased sampling effort. To overcome these challenges, we offer specific recommendations such as more structured monitoring efforts involving the public in areas likely to be roamed by moose for improving quantity, quality, and analysis of citizen science‐based data for making robust inferences. Citizen science‐based monitoring approaches for moose (Alces alces) in northeast Germany have been analyzed and their characteristics and limitations have been assessed. We provide concrete technical and structural changes to overcome data collection biases and improve the quantity and quality of citizen science data.