An Exploratory Study of Finanical Compensation for Livestock Depredation Policies: Human and Wildife Conflict and the Confluences of Science, Human, and Animal Relationships

Human and wildlife conflict is growing and globally species are declining. Policies designed to create tolerance have had sporadic successes. The connections between humans, wildlife, human and wildlife conflict policy, and science are interesting spaces in which to explore the role of science in the global decline of wildlife and its potential for reversing that decline. These relationships are explored through the analysis of policies of financial compensation for livestock depredation including trends in publications on the subject; a contrasting case study of two conservation areas with human and wildlife conflict, and interviews of scientists who study human and wildlife conflict. The thesis demonstrates there is a need for further exploration in the follow areas. There are gaps in the scientific literature in certain geographic areas that have policies for financial compensation, and it is important to understand why those areas are given short shrift by scholars. Also, governances, economies, and ecologies should be considered equally in human and wildlife conflict inquires in order to better inform policy creation and implementation. Further, there should be an exploration into science itself, specifically the relationships between those who create and implement these policies and scientists. The inclusion of these factors in human and wildlife conflict inquiries could lead to better policies that are designed to encourage tolerance and decrease conflict, bridging gaps between nature and culture and rural and urban divides.