Biodiversity loss and climate change touch every aspect of our lives. These intertwined trends can drive negative impacts such as famine, floods, catastrophic wildfire, and pest and disease outbreaks(1). Protecting and restoring natural ecosystems is crucial to counter these impacts(1,2). Healthy, intact ecosystems dampen climate extremes and provide habitat for a rich array of species(3). Cultivating a wilder planet, capable of supporting more robust populations of “ecosystem engineers” like lions, wolves, elk, and elephants, will benefit people around the world. Yet because the largest expanses of natural areas occur in less-developed countries, the costs of conservation progress fall heavily on people living in poverty(4,5). In example, when large carnivores start to recover in a particular region, it can result in harmful losses for local residents (e.g. food, livestock-based income, human life). Communities that live near or depend on natural areas for their livelihood have higher risk exposure, and poverty amplifies the impact of loss(6,7). Losses to carnivore attacks often spark indiscriminate killings of the species involved(8). They can also create conflict between communities and conservation organizations over whose values about wildlife should guide decisions when residents’ lives and livelihoods are at risk.

Steering toward a future where carnivores and people can coexist in the planet’s finite land area will require communities to become more tolerant(9). Yet shifting human attitudes and behavior at the scale needed to protect carnivores is difficult. Tolerance depends on a complex web of social and economic factors, nested within cultural contexts(10). Indigenous people and local communities often have different values, norms, or ways of knowing about stewardship of nature. Currently, there is uncertainty around why some communities are more carnivore-tolerant than others and what would promote greater tolerance in conflict hot-spots. Past work suggests social forces play a role, and that tolerance and intolerance could spread through social networks to shape norms in communities(11,12). Understanding tolerance is a priority issue in the Ruaha-Rungwa Landscape (RRL) in Tanzania, where my proposed research is based. RKL covers roughly over 50,000 square kilometers and is believed to be a stronghold for 10-15% of the remaining African lion population. It also supports hyena, cheetah, and African wild dogs. This landscape is home to approximately 40,000 people that depend on agriculture and livestock herding for food and income. Historically, conflict levels between carnivores and people have run high.

To carry out conservation social science research related to human-carnivore conflict, with the goal of collecting and analyzing empirical data to better understand the drivers and transmission pathways of human tolerance for coexisting with large carnivores.