Carnivores as engines for sustainable development

Abstract

Large carnivores, such as tigers and bears, are especially affected by human activities that have caused important population declines and range contractions. In addition, large carnivores often conflict with human socio-economic development For the first time, as part of Target 4, the Convention on Biological Diversity's recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework has recognized the need for effectively managing human-wildlife interactions to minimize humanwildlife conflict for coexistence. While this is an important step to support the development of coexistence policies, reversing large carnivores' declines requires integration of policies for their conservation into broader policies for sustainable development. We argue that long-term success of carnivore conservation depends upon embedding coexistence policies within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as to recognize the crucial role carnivores play in supporting economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development and minimize conflicts with humans.