Impact and Perception of the Human-Wildlife Conflict; a Spatial Case Study of Management and Strategies in Skåne County

Abstract: This study seeks to find the best strategies to be implemented to decrease the human-wildlife conflict (HWC). Other countries management practises and strategies to manage HWC was reviewed, in order to identify if Skåne county in Sweden could pursue improvements. To be able to tackle HWC, a greater understanding of people's ethical views were investigated and their perceptions of improvements were documented and researched. This study aims to provide quantitative data with web based surveys and spatial mapping of impacts from the HWC in Skåne county. It further aims to map the values that affects society caused by the HWC, and to answer the following questions; What are the optimal strategies in order to decrease HWC in Skåne? Where can cost effective improvements be implemented? This was both answered in the interviews conducted, and the gathered data. Optimal strategies that were detected where Skåne county can improve were; extensive implementations of ecoducts and passages for game, reducing the use of fencing, translocating, compensation actions, increase hunting opportunities and an installment of further game warning systems. Ethical views of different respondents’ towards the HWC were also analyzed. The online survey revealed that there were a difference in respondents views of HWC, based on if they were environmental science students, hunters or the general public. The gathered data and result, stated that the general public and the environmental students/workers were categorized in the ethical views of ecocentrism. The hunters ethical views could not be determined, due to the inconsistency of the answers of the questions. By showing differences and similarities in ethical views and how to manage HWC, strategies and incentives can more easily be adapted, to reach a better community base that can work together to reduce the HWC. Because of the different knowledge of the respondent groups and of their ethical views, there needs to be a broader incentive program that can maintain different interests of people and reduce conflicts, as well as preserve the biological state of ungulates in Skåne. In the online survey, all of the respondents agreed that the stakeholder, most suitable to handle and manage the problematics regarding HWC, is the government/county government. Other stakeholders that were believed suitable for managing HWC in Skåne, were organisations, for-profit companies and lastly, private self-acting individuals. Furthermore, the respondents beliefs on coexistence between humans and wildlife were also studied. The data showed that the general public and the hunters believed that future were to be positive, and the environmental students/workers believe the HWC would still be a problem in the future.