Human-wildlife interactions in urban Asia

Abstract

While urban areas may not seem conducive to human-wildlife interactions (HWI), rapid land use transformations can result in frequent encounters with wildlife in the context of changing habitats, as well as encounters with species that thrive in urban settings. In Asia, the processes of rapid land-use change can bring into sharp relief the juxtaposition of biodiversity hotspots with urban space. This provides an interesting context to study human-wildlife interactions, and also gives considerable scope for input into sustainable urban design worldwide. We conducted a structured review of published literature on HWI across urban southern and eastern Asia. Within the extracted literature, we investigated the framing of the interactions, as HWI have been predominantly perceived through the lens of dualistic antagonism and framed by paradigms of conflict, however there is also substantial discourse emphasizing interspecific coexistence. Invertebrates, mammals and birds occurred most commonly in the abstracts included in our review, with examples of conflict and coexistence common among all three taxonomic groups. Very few studies mentioned amphibians, reptiles and fish. Within each taxonomic group excluding amphibians, at least 50 % of interactions with humans were framed as conflicts. Humans were presented as causing conflict or negative impact on animals in the majority of studies on amphibians, birds, fish and insects, while mammals and lizards were more often considered to negatively impact humans. Our study illustrates the variety and complexity of human-wildlife interactions in Asia that need to be taken into account when planning sustainable urban designs.