Concrete examples will be used to illustrate good practices in terms of conflict mitigation in a variety of community settings and types of conflicts. The discussion will focus on approaches fundamental to the development of appropriate strategies. In particular, the importance of strong local community involvement in the choice of actions implemented and the need to adopt a holistic approach that does not only target the direct cause of the conflict will be discussed. Indeed, the simple use of "tools" such as chili peppers or beehives to repel elephants, the construction of shelters as protection from predators or electric fences, has never proven to be sufficient to improve the situation in a sustainable way. Understanding the context and threats to the species involved, considering the needs of communities to improve their living conditions, and evaluating the impact of implemented solutions are all essential approaches to improve human-wildlife coexistence in the long term.
