Main Goals
The aim of the Human-Wildlife Initiative is to come up with innovative proposals and concrete recommendations on how to take better account of large wild animals in the management of a territory.
The initiative is focused on the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) region in Southern France.
The Human – Wildlife Initiative seeks to identify and engage local champions, or “insiders”, who are ready to put forward innovative and concrete proposals for improving the relationship between wildlife and human activities in areas such as agriculture, tourism, hunting, and environmental management.
Examples include:
- Adapting farming practices to allow coexistence with wildlife
- Promoting actions focused on the compatibility of outdoor sports and preservation of wildlife
- Developing communication tools to promote agrotourism that showcases wildlife in a respectful manner
- Studying and monitoring wildlife populations
- Events for schools and/or the general public, meetings with rural stakeholders
The Initiative focuses on several species of wildlife found in rural and mountain areas in the PACA region: wolf, cervids, wild boar, chamois, mouflon, ibex, fox, mustelids, rodents, bats, and avifauna.
The initiative operates through an annual call for projects, the first one launched in September 2020.
The call for projects is key to identify local "insiders", well aware of the reality on the ground and well placed to make a difference at the local level through concrete field projects supported by the initiative.
If successful, the initiative could be extended to other Human – Wildlife conflict areas.