A systematic review of human-wildlife conflicts in the context of ecological change: Insights from geospatial applications

Abstract

Human-wildlife conflicts (HWCs) are escalating due to the expansion of anthropogenic activities, the growing proximity of human populations to wildlife habitats, and increased resource demands, particularly in developing nations. This review synthesizes peer-reviewed articles at the intersection of human-wildlife conflict, ecological change, and geospatial applications published between 2015 and 2024, using a systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. Bibliometric analysis software, such as VOSviewer, was used for spatial and network analysis, and 220 peer-reviewed articles were included in the final review. These studies, conducted across 47 countries, reflect a growing interest in this topic, with the number of publications increasing from just 1 in 2015–50 in 2024. Based on the country productivity analysis, 1015 authors contributed to this field, with the United States of America having the highest number of contributions, followed by the United Kingdom. The most frequently cited ecological drivers of conflict included habitat loss and fragmentation, land-use changes, and declines in natural prey. Frequently studied wildlife groups included mega-herbivores and large carnivores. The most common conservation statuses were "endangered," "vulnerable," and "keystone species." The most frequent keywords identified were ″human-wildlife conflict″, ″conservation″, and ″livestock depredation”. This study highlights key research trends in HWC, including leading contributors, major conflict drivers, focal species, dominant themes, and widely applied mitigation strategies. These insights may support researchers in selecting appropriate publication outlets and collaboration partners, and in guiding the development of effective strategies and policies to address human-wildlife conflicts.