854318 Landscape planning project (landscape planning, recreational planning, environment protection and planning, spatial planning, water planning)

Type
Project course
Semester hours
5
Lecturer (assistant)
Musakwa, Walter , Thaler, Thomas , Gugerell, Katharina
Organisation
Landscape Planning
Offered in
Sommersemester 2025
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) is a significant challenge affecting biodiversity, human safety, and livelihoods throughout different landscapes across the globe. The growing interactions between humans and wildlife, particularly carnivores, highlight the urgent need for effective coexistence strategies and implementation approaches that account for conservation needs, traditional land-use practices, livelihoods and community perceptions. The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) acknowledges the importance of addressing HWC as part of its 2030 Targets. Specifically, Target 4 emphasizes the need for instant management actions to prevent extinction of threatened species, support their recovery and conservation, and effectively manage human-wildlife interactions to reduce conflicts and promote coexistence. Environmental sustainability is also a key priority for the EU, where the conservation and management of large carnivores have become a focal point of stakeholder debate.

While human-wildlife conflicts are a recurring phenomenon in Europe, but rather new from a local perspective, there is already a lot of knowledge and experience on the management of HWC and the implementation of human-wildlife coexistence in sub-Saharan Africa, which can contribute to a South-North knowledge transfer.
In this year's research-orientated regulatory planning project we will deal with the topic of Human-Wildlife-Conflicts and Human Wildlife Interaction in a comparative cross-continental case-study research.

The course includes compulsory fieldwork in Austria and Zimbabwe (close to Gonarezhou National Park) in May 2025 (prel. dates to block: 5-14 May for fieldwork in Zimbabwe
there will be some days fieldwork in Austria,
final dates to be set (please dont book flights yet)). The costs for the fieldworks (incl. flights, lodging, food, personal equipment, visa, insurances, vaccinations, etc.) are to be covered by the students themselves.

Please note that the LVA is held in tandem with the LVA Excursion to LAP II.
Together, this results in 10 ECTS credits and you can expect a workload of 250 hours. The learning format focusses on self-directed learning: this means that you will also be involved in the preparatory work, setting up the survey, data collection, evaluation and seminar paper in particular and will complete many parts of this in guided learning formats. The course is therefore intended for advanced Master's students and PhD students. In Zimbabwe you will be working together with local students from Zimbabwe and be in contact with local communities.

The lodging will be organized by the lecturing team: please be aware that the fieldwork in Zimbabwe will take place in a very remote area, lodging and food will be very simple and modest (but of course safe);

Every participant is obliged to obtain an additional private travel insurance; compliance to the code of conduct and cultural appropriate behavior is mandatory.

Mandatory pre-meeting: Tuesday 4 March 2025, 11-12.30 am. We also invite people on the waiting list to participate, there may well be changes in the participation list if students do not yet have the necessary qualifications. International students are very welcome.
Previous knowledge expected

• Knowledge and interest in cultural landscapes, conservation, rewildening, human-wildlife conflicts
Robust knowledge in cultural landscapes, heritage, climate smart conservation
• GIS skills, social science skills (qualitative/quantiative), research skills (e.g. also writing skills, data analysis, etc.)
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.