The FAO-led Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme took part in the International Parliamentary Roundtable on Human–Wildlife Coexistence (HWC) held in Gaborone, Botswana, from 19 to 21 January 2026. The programme shared field experiences and practical innovations from its sites in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, contributing to high-level policy discussions on human–wildlife conflict. Hosted by the National Assembly of Botswana in partnership with International IDEA and supported by the European Union, the roundtable brought together parliamentarians and stakeholders from Africa, Europe, and beyond to strengthen legislative and policy responses to HWC.
Participants, including Members of Parliament, government officials, civil society actors, traditional leaders, community representatives, and conservation experts, focused discussions on balancing rural livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development. Emphasis was placed on community-based natural resource management, benefit-sharing mechanisms, compensation frameworks, and leveraging innovation and technology to mitigate conflicts between humans and wildlife.
Under the theme of Technology and Innovation, the SWM Programme highlighted how modern IT tools are transforming HWC responses in Botswana and the wider Kavango–Zambezi (KAZA) region. Over 200 community scouts have been trained to use tools such as the Spatial Monitoring Assessment and Reporting Tool (SMART), HWC databases, geo-trackers for livestock and wildlife, and real-time camera traps. These technologies, combined with local ecological knowledge like traditional animal husbandry and spoor survey methods, strengthen early warning systems, improve data-driven decision-making, and support proactive coexistence strategies that protect both livelihoods and biodiversity.
FAO also presented its Human–Wildlife Conflict Toolkit, featuring an interactive role-playing game that allows farmers, youth, traditional leaders, and authorities to simulate conflict scenarios and plan community-based solutions. This toolkit is supported by HWC mitigation factsheets and regional training-of-trainers initiatives, enabling more informed and collaborative approaches to human–wildlife coexistence.
The roundtable highlighted the SWM Programme’s Legal Hub, which provides a practical legal and policy platform for evidence-based wildlife governance. The Hub offers comparative legal analysis across agriculture, natural resources, and health sectors, integrating the One Health approach, community rights, and international environmental agreements. Since its launch in 2023, it has published over 3,700 legal texts across 16 countries and informed submissions on Botswana’s Community-Based Natural Resource Management Act, promoting transparency and inclusive, science-based legislation. FAO plans to integrate artificial intelligence and expand regional cooperation to further scale the Legal Hub’s impact in 2026 and beyond.
The SWM Programme is an international initiative aimed at improving conservation and sustainable use of wildlife in forest, savannah, and wetland ecosystems. Funded by the European Union with co-funding from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and the French Development Agency (AFD), the programme operates in 16 countries through partnerships with national governments, communities, and organizations. It is coordinated by FAO alongside the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
