In India, humans and wildlife have always shared spaces, finding ways to coexist. With a fast urbanising society, habitat loss due to climate change, and a disconnect between humans and natural landscapes, these interactions sometimes turn sour, leading to tension and losses for all.
“Sharing Cities: Coexistence in the Urbanscape” is an ongoing collaborative awareness and outreach campaign between Rainmatter and organisations working in the conservation and coexistence space. The aim is to be able to better understand the incredible biodiversity that surrounds us and is critical to an urban landscape, as well as to navigate coexistence with the many species we share it with.
An animal group often misunderstood in this context, and deeply feared, is snakes. In a conversation between Gerry (The Liana Trust), Sumanth (HSI-India), Sandeep (The Good Earth - Malhar) and Tanmayi (Rainmatter Foundation), they talk about the cruciality of snakes and other overlooked animals in an urban ecosystem, the changing relationship between humans and their environment, how it might be time for us to rethink our long-held perceptions, and how positive conversations can be the beginning of lasting change.
