Celebrating One Year of Human-Animal Coexistence: Working Towards A Foundation for A Shared Future

By Dr Mwenda Mbaka & Dr Katherine Baxter - January 2026

As we mark one year since the establishment of the Alliance for Human Animal Coexistence, we pause to reflect on a journey shaped by purpose, learning, and collective resolve. This first year has not been about claiming perfection or final solutions; rather, it has been about laying a principled foundation for a future in which people, animals, and ecosystems can thrive together. In a world increasingly strained by ecological degradation, social inequities, and competing demands on natural resources, the idea of coexistence has proven not to be an idealistic aspiration, but a practical and necessary pathway forward.

Throughout the year, AHAC has worked to reposition the human–animal relationship from one of dominance and extraction to one of responsibility, reciprocity, and shared survival. Our engagements across policy spaces, community initiatives, professional networks, and advocacy platforms have consistently reinforced a central truth – that human wellbeing is inseparable from animal wellbeing, and both are inseparable from the health of the ecosystems we inhabit. Where animals suffer, human livelihoods become fragile. Where ecosystems collapse, social and economic systems follow.

This year has demonstrated that human–animal coexistence is not a single intervention or sectoral agenda. It is a systems approach that cuts across food systems, livelihoods, urban development, wildlife conservation, climate resilience, and cultural values. By encouraging dialogue between disciplines and sectors that too often operate in isolation, AHAC has sought to nurture a shared language and a shared responsibility. This has included elevating African ethical perspectives, particularly Ubuntu and related philosophies, which recognize interdependence as a moral and practical imperative rather than a constraint.

Equally important has been the recognition that coexistence must be just. Sustainable futures cannot be built by placing the burden of conservation or animal welfare on communities already facing economic precarity. Over the past year, AHAC has therefore emphasized approaches that align animal welfare and environmental stewardship with human dignity, livelihoods, and opportunity. Coexistence succeeds when it creates value for people while safeguarding animals and restoring ecological balance.

As we look back, we acknowledge the partners, practitioners, advocates, researchers, and community actors who have walked this path with us. Their insights, critiques, and commitments have shaped AHAC into a learning platform rather than a static institution. We have also learned that progress in coexistence is often incremental and sometimes uncomfortable, requiring us to challenge entrenched assumptions, economic models, and policy silos. Yet it is precisely this honest engagement that gives the work its credibility and resilience.

Looking ahead to the coming year, our optimism is grounded in experience rather than hope alone. The conversations initiated, the collaborations formed, and the frameworks developed over this first year provide a strong platform for deeper impact. We envision a year of expanded partnerships, stronger evidence-informed advocacy, and practical models that demonstrate how human–animal coexistence can be operationalized across diverse African contexts and beyond.

The future we seek is not one where humans withdraw from nature, nor one where animals are reduced to mere instruments of human progress. It is a future defined by balance, respect, and shared prosperity. As AHAC enters its next year, we reaffirm our commitment to this vision and invite all who believe in a fairer, more humane, and more resilient world to continue this journey with us.

Human–animal coexistence is not only the safest path forward, but also the only one that offers a genuinely better future for people, animals, and the ecosystems that sustain us all. Thank you for sharing our aspirations for the gift of a prosperous future to the posterity, in recognition of the gift to us, by those who walked this earth before us!