WildlifeNL research agenda completed and published

The WildlifeNL project has reached an important milestone: the research agenda is complete and ready for publication. It is the proud result of two years of intensive collaboration within our unique consortium, consisting of several universities and relevant practitioner organizations. With the creation of this guiding document, the next phase of the research project can officially start.

From analysis to research agenda

The goal of WildlifeNL is to investigate how humans and large mammals can better coexist and to propose new strategies for doing so. There are, however, many different ideas in society about how we should interact with these animals. An important prerequisite for the project was therefore that all parties involved could agree on a shared analysis of the current situation. This would make it possible to jointly identify important opportunities for change.

In light of this, the first phase of the WildlifeNL project focused on mapping the different views on the subject. We looked in detail at both the bottlenecks currently experienced as well as where opportunities for improvement lie. Through a process of several workshops and in-depth consultations, this provided new insights and led to a shared starting point for what is needed to achieve a more sustainable way of living together with large mammals.

In summary, this identified four overarching areas of concern in current policy:

• There is a need for more clarity on the effectiveness and impact of certain measures; especially measures aimed at steering human-animal interactions. Examples include discouraging animals from entering certain areas, for example by noise or light, or timely informing farmers when a herd of animals is approaching.
• There is insufficient cooperation between involved parties, and stakeholders experience insufficient support in dealing with problems.
• There is a lack of a systems-based approach, which manifests itself in two ways: there is little attention for interactions between both humans and animals, and between different animal species (1), and there is a lack of coherence and coordination in the approach of land management and human-animal conflict issues (2).
• The way of dealing with large mammals is complicated by the lack of a shared long-term vision of how we as a society want to coexist with wildlife in our landscape.

In addition to these concerns, opportunities to address the issues were also identified. From this, the following key options emerged:

• It would be useful to develop ways of influencing human-animal interactions that take changing circumstances into account
• We would benefit from creating an overarching policy. This could facilitate cooperation between different stakeholders and clarify who exactly is responsible for what part.
• Successful cohabitation with large mammals could be promoted by holding an open societal dialogue on values, intentions, and trade-offs with all stakeholders, combined with developing a shared vision of human-animal interactions.

Using these findings, the focus of the project was further sharpened, and the research agenda could be created.

Starting point for targeted research

Now that the research agenda is complete and clear frameworks have been established, the next phase of the WildlifeNL project can begin. The Research Agenda provides direction for further research into the identified challenges and potential opportunities for improvement that emerged from the analysis. It will thus serve as an important starting point for the researchers who will work on eight doctoral studies, approached from different perspectives:

• Technology
• Philosophy
• Policy and governance
• Behavioral ecology
• Perceptions and experiences of human-animal interactions
• Communication
• Law

In addition, the PhD students will work together as a team, combining the insights gained from their own research. In this way, they can also identify the interplay between the various challenges and solutions. To support this process, four overarching research questions have been formulated:

• What drives interactions between humans and large mammals, and how can we promote behavioral change and mutual learning between animals and humans?
• How does stakeholder collaboration work, and how can communication and cooperation between institutions, organizations, and actors be improved?
• How coherent is current policy, how are policy and practice aligned, and what role can systems thinking play to improve coordination and alignment?
• What different views and values are there regarding human-animal interactions, and how can a conversation about these values and views be encouraged?

Besides gathering knowledge on the above issues, the research will also focus on testing different interventions. These could include developing digital technology that gives insight into the behavior that takes place during encounters between humans and animals, setting up new partnerships, and formulating future scenarios. Many of these interventions will be tested in the two Living Labs (Unesco Human & Biosphere Reserve Kempenbroek and National Park South-Kennemerland), but some research will also focus on the rest of the Netherlands.

Looking to the future

As mentioned, reaching this important milestone provides a solid foundation for the continuation of our project. An exciting time dawns, in which we’ll work hard to answer the questions from the research agenda as concretely as possible. We look forward to keeping you further informed of our progress and findings in the coming years.

The full research agenda is available for viewing here (Dutch only).