Elephants need human acceptance to survive.The Coexistence Project is a combination of research and community-based conservation initiatives to understand how elephants and people can both thrive on the same landscape.
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Why is this needed?Protected areas in Asia are too small to entirely support elephant populations. The majority of Asian elephants today therefore rely on a patchwork of different landscapes, used by people in various ways. This presents serious challenges for both elephants and people.
We study elephants and people to find ways that both can make a living, peacefully, side-by-side. We also support the communities that we work with, to help offset some of the economic hardships elephants present. |
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Current Work
The Secret Life of ElephantsHow do elephants and people actually live together? How risky is it to have elephants roaming around near one's back yard? Using trail cams, we are documenting how elephants and people are sharing the landscape over months and years.
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Living With ElephantsWhat are the economic conditions of agricultural communities? How do they feel about elephants and nature, what governs their decisions and behavior? We collaborated with social scientists to design and survey hundreds of households to find out. We have also partnered with local enterprise to test creative ways to protect crops.
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