Human-elephant coexistence in Zimbabwe: "we are part of them; they are part of us"

Abstract

The world is facing a biodiversity crisis. In some countries, however, communities have adapted to coexisting with wildlife. With the advent of the first international conference on disaster risk management, co-hosted by the HSRC, the HSRC Review team visited the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, where people come into frequent contact with elephants. The experiences of these communities offer lessons for mutually beneficial coexistence. But the situation is more complex than it appears.