Negotiating Coexistence is an independent advisory and training consultancy created by Alexandra Zimmermann in 2023 in response to frequent requests from wildlife conservation professionals and organisations grappling with complex conflicts. Its mission is to build and scale up skills in conflict resolution and negotiation to enable more constructive pathways for our collective coexistence with nature.
Biography
Alexandra Zimmermann is a specialist in human–wildlife conflict and coexistence (HWC), whose work over the past 25 years has played a central role in revising our understanding of HWCs and developing effective solutions through governance adjustments and negotiation rather than technical quick fixes. She is the Founding Chair of the IUCN SSC Human–Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence Specialist Group and regularly advises governments, UN agencies, donors, and NGOs worldwide, including the UN FAO and the Royal Commission for Al Ula. She contributed directly to the novel inclusion of HWC within the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Global Biodiversity Framework and directed the creation of global guidelines for the management of HWC and international multi-stakeholder conferences on the topic.
In 2026, she was awarded the Midori Prize for Biodiversity for her global work fostering collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, helping to establish human–wildlife coexistence as a priority in international biodiversity policy, and pioneering the application of knowledge and approaches from peacebuilding and conflict resolution to biodiversity conservation. Alexandra has extensive experience in training and capacity building, having designed and delivered 25 tailored courses over the past decade for nearly 700 practitioners, researchers, and government staff worldwide, including courses for the World Bank, IUCN and various zoos and NGOs. Her experience is grounded in extensive field work with communities in Brazil, India, Nepal, Mauritius, the UK, Saudi Arabia and many other countries, where she has conducted stakeholder dialogues and negotiated solutions involving communities, governments, and conservation organisations.
She is based at the University of Oxford as Associate Professor, where she leads research, supervises graduate students, and is leading the development of the world’s first Master’s degree in Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence. Raised in Indonesia, Lebanon, Germany, France, and Canada, her initial training was in zoology and conservation biology before she gained her doctorate in conservation social research from Oxford University, trained as a facilitator, and later in conflict negotiation at Harvard University and diplomatic negotiation at the United Nations.