Presentation Summary

Human-wildlife conflicts are rarely just ecological problems. They are manifestations of deeper inequities in who bears the costs of conservation, whose knowledge counts, and who holds decision-making power. This webinar examines how environmental justice frameworks reveal the structural inequalities embedded in human-wildlife conflicts and offers pathways toward more equitable coexistence strategies. Drawing from ongoing research with farming communities living alongside elephants in Thailand, we explore how environmental justice as a framework, methodology, and analysis tool can shift conflict mitigation from top-down management to community-led solutions that balance ecological integrity with social equity.

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Presenter Bio

Tyler is a conservation social scientist whose work across Southeast Asia and North America examines how power dynamics and structural inequalities shape human-environment relationships. His research on human-elephant coexistence in Thailand centers marginalized voices in conservation decision-making to develop conflict mitigation strategies that balance ecological integrity with social equity. As an educator, Tyler teaches courses bridging conservation science, political ecology, and social-ecological systems thinking. Drawing from critical social science methodologies and environmental justice scholarship, he trains students in interdisciplinary research methods that interrogate power, benefits, and burdens. His teaching prepares students to navigate the political and ethical dimensions of conservation across diverse cultural contexts.