EDUCATION
Ph.D., School of the Environment & Department of Anthropology, Yale University
MPhil, Anthropology and Environment, Yale University
MESc, School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University
B.S., School of Life Sciences, Peking University
BIO
Dr. Yufang Gao is a conservation scientist and environmental anthropologist passionate about integrating knowledge and practice to foster human–wildlife coexistence in healthy environments. He is currently a postdoctoral research associate with the Yale InterAsia Initiative. His research focuses on the ecological, sociopolitical, and cultural dimensions of human–wildlife interactions. He has worked with international, national, and local organizations on a wide range of wildlife conservation projects, primarily across the Tibetan Plateau, the Himalayas, and East Africa. His work has been recognized by the National Geographic Emerging Explorers Award, the Marsh Award for Terrestrial Conservation Leadership, the Roy A. Rappaport Prize in Environmental Anthropology, and the Yale Graduate School Public Scholar Award, among others. Dr. Gao is the founder and director of Conservation Edgewalkers, a leadership initiative dedicated to engaging and empowering early-career Chinese conservationists. He also serves as Co-Chair of the IUCN China Species Specialist Group.
Keywords: wildlife conservation; multispecies ethnography; religion and ecology; Buddhism; illegal wildlife trade; policy sciences; Tibetan Plateau; Himalayas; China
RECENT PUBLICATION
Gao, Y., & Yu, Y. (2025). Justice in coexistence: Pastoralism and large carnivores on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. People and Nature.
Gao, Y., & Clark, S. G. (2025). A value-centered approach to developing grand strategy for human-wildlife coexistence. Policy Sciences, 1-24.
Gao, Y., & Clark, S. G. (2025). Teaching grand strategy to future environmental leaders for sustainable coexistence. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 1-11.
Gao, Y., & Clark, S. G. (2024). A practical guide to understanding the context of human-wildlife coexistence. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 1-12.
Gao, Y., Wang, Y., Lee, A. T., Liu, Y., Luo, Y., Orrick, K., … & Clark, S. G. (2023). Contextualizing sociodemographic differences in Tibetan attitudes toward large carnivores. Conservation Science and Practice, 5(12), e13049.
Gao, Y., Liu, Y., Luo, Y., Biggs, D., Zhao, W., & Clark, S. G. (2023). Tracking Chinese newspaper coverage of elephant ivory through topic modeling. Conservation Biology, 37(5), e14072.
Gao, Y., Lambert, A., & Clark, S. (2023). Grand strategy for human–wildlife coexistence. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 21(7), 308-309.
Gao, Y., & Clark, S. G. (2023). An interdisciplinary conception of human-wildlife coexistence. Journal for Nature Conservation, 73, 126370.
Gao, Y., Lee, A. T., Luo, Y., Alexander, J. S., Shi, X., Sangpo, T., & Clark, S. G. (2023). Large carnivore encounters through the lens of mobile videos on social media. Conservation Science and Practice, 5(3), e12907.