Human-Wildlife Conflicts
Actions to conserve the earth’s biodiversity routinely impact human livelihoods and wellbeing. To enhance the success of conservation projects, it is essential that scientists can negotiate conflicts of interests between people and biodiversity when they occur. By critical appraisal of contemporary literature, this review prepared by Jessica Pinder for the University of Queensland, describes the underlying causes of conservation conflicts, and how these types of disputes can be effectively resolved. Using case studies as examples, this review explains how three widely used frameworks; Adaptive Co-Management, Joint Fact-Finding and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis, have been successfully employed to negotiate conflicts in natural resource management.
Embrace the Wild Guidebook
Embrace the Wild is a global community conservation program of the Jane Goodall Institute, that seeks to restore habitats and community connection to the natural world. The program’s mission is to help living things flourish, especially in environments that have been heavily shaped by humans. By taking meaningful actions at home or in local communities, collectively we can all make a valuable difference.
Conservation Psychology
Fostering widespread concern for conservation problems requires a robust understanding of the life experiences that positively contribute to an individual’s conservation attitudes and behaviours. However, few studies have assessed a comprehensive range of social and experiential predictors of conservation concern. We find that limited childhood experiences in natural environments do not impede the development of conservation concern in young Australians, and that family values and experiences with environmental organizations, nature-related storylines and school subjects help to foster biospheric values and greater conservation concern.
Government Policy Contributions
My work in environment policy and strategy, and monitoring and evaluation frameworks spans complex policy areas including renewable energy, water planning science, First Nations social policy, regulatory habitat protection and statewide conservation strategy. Below are selected publicly released documents that I have worked on, linking directly to official sources.
Children’s Storybook
In 2019-20, I contributed as a pro-bono threatened species consultant to the publication of An Antechinus in the Attic written by Viarnne Mischon, illustrated by Myke Mollard, with a foreword by Dr Jane Goodall, DBE. This is an A-Z featuring over 70 species of endangered, rare and iconic Australian wildlife that is both highly entertaining and educational, with a supporting teachers resource guide.
