Cambridge University Press Ecological Vulnerability: The Law and Governance of Human–Wildlife Relationships

Humans are responsible for biodiversity loss in many related and sometimes conflicting ways. Human-wildlife conflict, commonly defined as any negative interaction between people and wildlife, is a primary contributor to wildlife extinction and a manifestation of the destructive relationship that people have with wildlife. The author presents this 'wicked' problem in a social and legal context and demonstrates that legal institutions structurally deny human-wildlife conflict, while exacerbating conflict, promoting values consistent with individual autonomy, and ignoring the interconnected vulnerabilities shared by human and non-human species alike. It is the use of international and state law that sheds light on existing conflicts, including dingo conflict on K'Gari-Fraser Island in Australia, elephant conflict in Northern Botswana, and the global wildlife trade contributing to COVID-19. This book presents a critical analysis of human-wildlife conflict and its governance, to guide lawyers, scientists and conservations alike in the transformation of the management of human-wildlife conflict. Book Description This book offers novel theoretical responses to the question of how laws and institutions shape the human-wildlife relationship. About the Author Katie Woolaston is an award-winning writer, inter-disciplinary researcher, lawyer and senior lecturer in the QUT Law School. She works in the fields of wildlife law and conservation conflicts. She was an expert on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) panel concerning Biodiversity and Pandemics, is an Associate Editor of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Environmental Law, and is a Board Member of Australia's National Environmental Law Association.