Student Session Abstract 10

“Tales Between Species: Sanctuary and Coexistence in Shared Landscape”

In an era of ecological rupture and rising human-wildlife conflicts, conservation cannot rely on data alone—it must also listen to the stories unfolding in shared landscapes. This presentation explores narrative framing and craft as both method and lens for coexistence. Drawing on work in conflict mitigation, coexistence design, animal-welfare outreach, and wildlife-trafficking prevention across worlds and species, it examines how scientific, local, and public narratives—analyzed through Behavior-Centered Design—shape how communities define sanctuary, assign value to wildlife, and negotiate contested human-nature relations. Can narrative practice unsettle binaries of human/animal, protection/conflict, and victim/threat? How might new, adaptive frameworks bridge fragmented policies, traditions, and ecosystems to imagine futures where more-than-human lives belong? And how might behavioral insights, grounded in empathy and culture, shift not just how we manage wildlife, but how we live alongside it?