Research overview: the conflict-to-coexistence continuum and levels of intervention

This overview reviews frameworks that array human-carnivore relationships along a continuum from acute conflict through coexistence to active stewardship, and that match interventions to a situation's position on that continuum. It synthesises models distinguishing the visible level of damage, the deeper level of underlying attitudes, and the deepest level of social-identity conflict, arguing that effective programs work simultaneously across levels. The literature emphasises diagnosing where a conflict truly sits before deploying technical, economic, or governance responses. The survey frames the continuum approach as a diagnostic tool that helps practitioners avoid mismatched interventions, such as applying fences and compensation to what is fundamentally a crisis of trust or political grievance.