We would like to propose a side-event at CMS COP15 to explore the foundations for an ambitious, inclusive, and measurable framing of the concept of “human–wildlife coexistence”. This would take the form of two short presentations, followed by a chaired panel discussion with audience participation, and plans for post-event activities. With increasing reference to “human–wildlife coexistence” across policy (including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework), research, conservation practice (often as a stated target), and public discourse, we see an urgent need to clarify what we mean by the term, and how it can be operationalised. 

While several definitions of human–wildlife coexistence have been proposed, the term is most often used to describe an absence of human–wildlife conflict – situations where wildlife negatively impact human wellbeing. We believe that this framing may fail to fully capture the multifaceted ways in which wildlife and people interact in shared land- and seascapes, and is insufficiently ambitious for addressing urgent sustainable development goals. We propose this side-event to initiate open discussion across research, policy and practice, with local, Indigenous and youth input, to define human–wildlife coexistence in a way that supports inclusive, measurable, and ambitious efforts for humans and wildlife to thrive alongside one another on our increasingly crowded planet.