Research overview: defining coexistence in human-carnivore systems

This overview synthesises scholarship that seeks to define coexistence as a positive conservation goal distinct from the mere absence of conflict. It reviews frameworks conceptualising coexistence as a dynamic, self-sustaining state in which people and carnivores share landscapes with tolerable levels of risk, supported by effective institutions and shared norms. The literature distinguishes coexistence from suppression or fragile truce, and debates how to measure it through indicators of tolerance, persistence, and well-being. The survey frames the shift from a conflict-centric to a coexistence-centric paradigm as a major conceptual development, reorienting research and policy toward fostering durable, mutually viable relationships between humans and big cats rather than only reducing damage.