Pre-conference short courses
Monday 1 March 2027
Ahead of the main conference, delegates can attend a selection of full-day and half-day short courses, taking place on Monday, 1 March 2027 at the conference venue.
Short course tickets are sold separately from conference registration and are limited in availability.
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Full-day courses: $60/£45
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Half-day courses: $40/£30
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​Courses:
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​Practical tools to facilitate dialogue and resolve social conflicts for coexistence (full-day)
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EarthRanger: a real-time early warning for human-wildlife coexistence (full-day)
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Planning for human-wildlife coexistence: from understanding the system to Theory of Change (full-day)
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Designing behaviour change interventions for managing human-wildlife conflict and coexistence (full-day)
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Designing a social science research study (half-day)
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Using connectivity tools for predicting human-wildlife conflict (half-day)
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Designing nature education programmes for human–wildlife conflict landscapes (half-day)
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Ethical community engagement for conservation: the PARTNERS principles (half-day)
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Predictive modelling of social dimensions to identify human-wildlife conflict hotspots at large spatial scales (half-day)
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Please note that conference registration does not include access to short courses.
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Full-day courses
Practical tools to facilitate dialogue
and resolve social conflicts for coexistence
​Led by:
Mireille Gonzalez, The Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence, Colorado State University
Lauren Evans, Human Nature
Room: Wind
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Description: Conflict can be one of the biggest barriers to effective conservation, eroding trust, stalling decision-making and causing harm to conservation practice. Most stakeholder engagement processes aren't designed to reduce conflict; too often, they entrench it by overlooking the human dimensions of conservation challenges. This course will introduce participants to approaches for navigating polarised conflicts and creating space for constructive dialogue. Through interactive, hands-on exercises, participants will learn the power of dialogue and the care it takes to hold space for difficult conversations; how to defuse conflicts through the use of Nonviolent Communication; and simple principles and skills for reconciliation and mediation. The course draws on research from deliberative democracy, peacebuilding and reconciliation.
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Maximum number of participants: 50
Planning for human-wildlife coexistence: from understanding the system to Theory of Change
​Led by:
Silvio Marchini, Plan4Coex and Instituto Pró Carnívoros
Julie Young, Berryman Institute, Utah State University
Room: Air 1
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Description: Human-wildlife coexistence is increasingly embraced as an aspiration for shared landscapes but translating this broad aspiration into clear and actionable strategies remains challenging. Effective planning requires understanding the wider social-ecological system in which human-wildlife interactions occur and identifying plausible pathways toward desired coexistence outcomes. This course introduces a structured, participatory approach to planning for human-wildlife coexistence, with particular emphasis on the development and use of Theory of Change (ToC). Participants will explore human-wildlife interactions, their impacts and underlying drivers, and consider how different stakeholders perceive and experience the system. Building on this understanding, they will develop explicit pathways linking interventions to desired outcomes through hands-on group exercises and a case study.
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Maximum number of participants: 30
EarthRanger: a real-time
early warning for human-wildlife coexistence​
Led by:
Antony Lynam and Jordan Steward, EarthRanger
​Room: Sky​​​​
Description: EarthRanger, a free platform from the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2), supports more than 900 sites across 90 countries, integrating sensor readings and field observations. This practical workshop will introduce participants to using EarthRanger to design early warning systems for human-wildlife conflict. Participants will learn how to configure geofences around croplands and settlements, apply analysers to trigger proximity, immobility and speed alerts, and connect GPS collars, AI-enabled camera traps, passive acoustic sensors and community reports through Gundi’s integrations and EarthRanger Mobile. Through hands-on exercises and case studies from Thailand, Sabah and Kenya, participants will explore how early warning systems can support timely responses to HWC. Through hands-on exercises, participants will develop a configured site and alert templates that can be adapted to their own contexts. No prior EarthRanger experience is required.
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Maximum number of participants: 50
Designing behaviour change interventions for managing human-wildlife conflict and coexistence
Led by:
Diogo Veríssimo, University of Oxford and IUCN SSC CEC Behaviour Change Task Force
Laura Perry, Castlerock Conservation and IUCN SSC CEC Behaviour Change Task Force
Room: Thonburi
Description: Human-wildlife conflict interventions often seek to change behaviour, but struggle to incorporate behavioural science into these approaches. This practical course will introduce participants to a structured, evidence-informed process for designing behaviour change interventions that support coexistence. Participants will learn how to define behavioural problems, identify relevant actors, diagnose influencing factors, and select appropriate interventions. They will also consider how social, cultural, economic and institutional contexts shape behaviour and intervention feasibility. Through case studies and exercises, participants will develop an intervention strategy for a HWC challenge. No previous behavioural science training is required.
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Maximum number of participants: 30​
Half-day courses
Designing a social
science research study
Led by:
Jenny Anne Glikman, IESA-CSIC
Beatrice Frank, Georgia Strait Alliance
Room: Air 2
Time: 9-13h
Description: Social science research requires rigorous study design, careful methodological choices and systematic data collection to produce credible and meaningful evidence. This course will introduce participants to the fundamentals of designing high-quality social science research using quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches. Participants will learn how to formulate research questions, select appropriate study designs, choose suitable data collection methods, and develop research instruments aligned with their objectives. They will also consider key principles of sampling, ethics and research implementation. Through practical exercises, participants will develop skills to design rigorous studies and critically assess research protocols and data collection instruments.
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Maximum number of participants: 50
Designing nature education
programmes for human-wildlife
conflict landscapes
Led by:
Mayukh Chatterjee and Eleanor Thomas, Chester Zoo​
Room: Air 3​
Time: 9-13h
Description: Human-wildlife coexistence is a dynamic state shaped by a multitude of factors. Among the most important is that people have the capacity to understand the wildlife that they share their landscapes with and develop a connection to nature. This course will explore how strengthening nature connectedness can provide a foundation for long-term coexistence, particularly through programmes that empower children and young people to care for nature and become leaders in their communities. Participants will learn about the building blocks of effective programme design, framed by the experience of developing, delivering, and evaluating a multi-year, school-based nature education programme in tiger and elephant landscapes in India.
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Maximum number of participants: 25
Predictive modelling of social dimensions to identify HWC hotspots at large spatial scales
Led by:
Jacqueline Morrison, Chester Zoo
Room: Charoennakorn​
Time: 9-13h
Description: Spatial assessments of HWC have traditionally relied on records of damage, often assuming that damage reflects the level of conflict. However, this approach can overlook the human dimension, including sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes and perceptions. This course will explore the types of data required for multi-dimensional spatial assessments of HWC that incorporate the human dimension, including approaches to sampling, processing, and analysis. It will demonstrate how sociodemographic and perception data can be integrated as spatial layers at large spatial scales within statistical models. It will provide participants with a clear and transferable framework to provide a more refined assessment of HWC distribution and identification of ‘true’ HWC hotspots than traditional methods.
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Maximum number of participants: 30
Using connectivity tools for predicting human-wildlife conflict
Led by:
Dawn Burnham and Carol Sartor, WildCRU, Oxford
Ivan Gonzalez, Northern Arizona University​​​
Room: Air 2
Time: 13-17h
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Description: Land-use planners worldwide increasingly need to balance economic development, infrastructure expansion and environmental sustainability. At the same time, the basic needs of people and wildlife for space and natural resources are increasingly in competition, sometimes resulting in HWC. This course will introduce participants to the Connecting Landscapes Decision Support System (CoLa DSS), an open-source tool for exploring how different land-use options may affect ecological connectivity and conflict risk. Participants will learn how to use CoLa DSS to visualise core areas and corridors, assess conflict risk and identify potential conflict hotspots. Through demonstrations and hands-on exercises, participants will explore the cloud-based interface and consider how the tool can support land-use planning.
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Maximum number of participants: 40​​​
Ethical community engagement for conservation: the PARTNERS principles
Led by:
Koustubh Sharma and Chloe Lucas, Snow Leopard Trust
Room: Air 3​
Time: 13-17h
Description: Traditional conservation approaches have often come at a huge human cost, displacing Indigenous peoples and local communities, disrupting livelihoods and marginalising traditional knowledge. Most conservation practitioners receive little to no training in approaches for ethically and respectfully engaging with local communities. This course, part of the Ethical Conservation Alliance’s (ECA) work to transform conservation practice, introduces the PARTNERS Principles, a framework for respectful, effective and ethical engagement with communities. Through interactive discussions and activities, participants will explore real-world challenges, reflect on their own practice, and develop practical strategies for embedding ethics and equity in conservation.
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Maximum number of participants: 20​
Media communication for
human-wildlife coexistence
Led by:
Virat Singh, ASAR
Mayukh Chatterjee, Chester Zoo
Room: Charoennakorn​
Time: 13-17h
Description: What you say and how you say it can escalate or de-escalate a human-wildlife conflict and, if poorly handled, turn it into a deeper crisis. Sensational headlines and poorly framed social media posts can undermine coexistence, exacerbate existing conflicts and weaken efforts to de-escalate them. This practical workshop will equip participants with tools to build strategic communication approaches, navigate aggressive mainstream media, use social media for constructive engagement, and communicate effectively with local stakeholders in high-stress environments. Participants will explore how to build and sustain a 360-degree narrative through three key areas: mastering mainstream media relations, social media and digital storytelling, and strategic stakeholder communication.
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Maximum number of participants: 40
Room allocation is subject to change.