Human-wildlife conflicts are complex and require scientific facts as well as trustful collaboration and communication among all the stakeholders involved. At the IZW, the integration of stakeholders into the research process is an important strategy not only to improve the societal relevance of the scientific results, but also to break down barriers between science and society in terms practically applying these newly gained insights.
The Cheetah Research Project leads the way in the stakeholder integration and barrier-free communication. In Namibia we have adopted the concept of "real-world laboratories" to achive exactly that and co-develop a solution to a long-lasting conflict between cheetahs and cattle farmers. It's only together that we can make a difference in the Anthropocene!
In this video the CRP and the Leibniz-IZW explain in detail why we think a new quality of our science-to-society interface is necessary and how we use the real-world lab concept in our cheetah research.
You can read more about our stakeholder communication within the real-world laboratory in central Namibia following this link.