USAID Conserve’s Post

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES: COLLABORATING FOR CONSERVATION Effective conservation efforts hinge on strong partnerships with local communities. Sepik Wetlands & Peatland Limited exemplifies this by engaging local stakeholders in Papua New Guinea. By involving local populations in the preservation of wetlands and peatlands, the company ensures that conservation strategies align with traditional knowledge and practices. This collaboration fosters a sense of ownership among community members, empowering them to protect their natural resources. Additionally, these partnerships provide economic benefits through sustainable livelihood opportunities, creating a mutually beneficial relationship that strengthens both environmental and social resilience. The success of such initiatives underscores the importance of integrating local communities into conservation frameworks for lasting impact. #CommunityConservation #SustainablePartnerships #IndigenousLeadership

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES: COLLABORATING FOR CONSERVATION Effective conservation efforts hinge on strong partnerships with local communities. Sepik Wetlands & Peatland Limited exemplifies this by engaging local stakeholders in Papua New Guinea. By involving local populations in the preservation of wetlands and peatlands, the company ensures that conservation strategies align with traditional knowledge and practices. This collaboration fosters a sense of ownership among community members, empowering them to protect their natural resources. Additionally, these partnerships provide economic benefits through sustainable livelihood opportunities, creating a mutually beneficial relationship that strengthens both environmental and social resilience. The success of such initiatives underscores the importance of integrating local communities into conservation frameworks for lasting impact. #CommunityConservation #SustainablePartnerships #IndigenousLeadership

Community forestry work in Gabon We've been working in Gabon with local NGO Brainforest Gabon for the past 3 years. The project seeks to equip local communities with the legal knowledge they need to set up community forests and manage resources sustainably themselves. With roughly two years until the project's completion, much has been achieved, from 6 community forests being established or reinstated, to the increasing representation of women in forest management. But there is much still to be accomplished. Community-based forest management is one of the most effective ways to protect against commercial loggers and deforestation while supporting local economies. Brainforest Gabon, with ClientEarth's help, will focus this year on helping more communities manage and preserve the forests they rely on. https://lnkd.in/dBEJVsFJ #communityforest #biodiversityconservation #indigenouspeoples #localcommunities #deforestation

🌍 Enhancing Community Resilience and Sustainability: A Field Visit to Chikito, Adamawa State As part of the monitoring and evaluation framework under the partnership between the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Concern on Climate Change for the Community Initiative (FOURCi), Valeria De Matteis, NRC’s Regional Partnership Advisor, conducted a supervisory field visit to Chikito in Fofure LGA, Adamawa State. The visit focused on assessing project implementation progress, engaging with beneficiaries, and ensuring alignment with the project’s objectives of fostering community resilience and sustainability. Highlights of the visit included observing the impact of interventions such as: 🌱 Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA): Promoting sustainable farming practices. 🌳 Tree Planting Activities: Enhancing environmental conservation efforts. 🌟 Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): Building capacity for mitigating climate-related risks. The visit also provided a platform to identify challenges and develop collaborative solutions, strengthening our commitment to creating sustainable change. Together, we continue to empower communities for a brighter, more resilient future. 🌟 #CommunityResilience #Sustainability #ClimateAction #PartnershipsForImpact #MonitoringAndEvaluation

KILIAVO’S NOT SO GRAND FINALE Outside developers see Amboseli as the wild west, somewhere they can score cheap land and do what they want with it. ‘KiliAvo Fresh’ was one of these - they bought 180 acres in the Kimana Wildlife Corridor and cleared and fenced it to plant avocados. The problem was they hadn’t properly assessed their environmental impact, consulted neighbours and stakeholders, or taken account of land-use management plans. As a result Kenya’s environmental management authority (NEMA) revoked their development permission, kicking off a 4-year legal saga… The resistance was led by the Kimana community, represented by an association called ALOCA, but Big Life ended up embroiled in the court battles. KiliAvo’s cases failed repeatedly, the most recent blow coming last week in a dismissal of their case by the Kajiado Environment and Land Court. KiliAvo will be allowed one final appeal to a higher court, but we hope that we are close to the right outcome. Big Life’s CEO in Kenya, Benson Leyian, said of the court’s decision, “It’s another win that reinforces the message: there are regulations and land-use plan in Amboseli that have been put in place to protect the livelihoods of local communities, and the natural environment that the people depend on. These plans are enforceable by law, and you cannot get around this.” Added Samuel Kaanki, ALOCA Chairman, “Today is a cause for celebration in our community, we feel that we are being recognized by the government and the courts. This farm, and others that could follow if it was allowed to continue, threaten our livelihoods and culture.” There are other non-compliant farms in the area, including Ngong Veg who have made a public commitment to return the land to conservation but taken no such steps yet. We hope that this will be a signal to them and others; farming is important, but not in the middle of one of the most heavily trafficked elephant migration corridors in Kenya. 📸: Jeremy Goss #kiliavo #conservation #habitat #elephants #landuse #amboseli #avocado #kenya #africa

🔺 Diagram below is how USAID Conserve's direct grants to community-based organizations work: 💵 USAID Conserve will provide direct grants to community-based organizations through conservation partners working in the areas who will provide capacity building and technical support to those community-based organizations. 🌱 These grants will contribute to improved local governance, sustainable natural resource management, livelihoods improvement as well as equipping community-based organizations with organizational and institutional capacity building. #USAIDCambodia #USAIDConserve

Indigenous Peoples around the world are creating their own mechanisms to fund their self-determined priorities. Learn more about some of the latest news from Canada in this article by Fatima Syed for The Narwhal. For six years, Canada's federal government has provided political and financial support for Indigenous Guardians programs. However, the administrative burden for Indigenous Nations to access and use such funding was enormous, if not completely prohibitive, and demand was so high that only a fraction of applications were approved. Over the past year, the First Nations National Guardians Network - established at the UN Biodiversity COP in Montreal in 2022 - independently managed and allocated federal funds for Indigenous communities. (As the article notes, Indigenous Guardians programs across Canada have various funding sources, just one of which is the federal government.) This looks like a continuing positive shift in making financial support for Indigenous Nations and their chosen organisations more accessible and directly useful in their territories. Let's also remember that: (a) Financial support (including from private philanthropy) is just one part of broader efforts to decolonise conservation and realise Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, and should go hand-in-hand with other forms of recognition and support; and (b) Government and private support for Indigenous-led conservation should go hand-in-hand with strengthening regulatory oversight and accountability of destructive industries (i.e., direct threats to Indigenous Nations and their territories) and eliminating perverse subsidies and tax breaks for the same. Kudos to Indigenous Leadership Initiative, Right Relations Collaborative and many others for many forms of leadership over the years. #canada #indigenouspeoples #conservation #funding #news

YES! I 💯 agree. Direct funding to Indigenous COMMUNITIES and mechanisms for direct funding are definitely the theme for #COP16. Want to add that this can be government (nation = soverign IP nation, charity > IP community charity, or commercial Indigenous OWNED green businesses) but the key word here is DIRECT. And also not crossing lines, it's important that government <> government funding isn't directed through commercial markets.

This initiative is truly commendable! The cultivation and distribution of indigenous seedlings for reforestation on Mt Kenya not only contribute to environmental restoration but also enhance community engagement and education. It’s inspiring to see how the Mount Kenya Trust (MKT) tree nursery serves as a dynamic educational hub, offering ‘best practice’ examples in tree nurturing and fostering a deeper connection with the land. The approach of integrating community involvement with environmental stewardship is a powerful model for sustainable development. Programs like the Trees Establishment Livelihood Improvement Scheme (TELIS) on Mt Kenya, which combine agroforestry with community benefits, are excellent examples of this. They allow community members to cultivate crops alongside growing tree seedlings, creating a harmonious balance between farming and forest regeneration. It’s also heartening to hear that MKT welcomes school groups and community members, which aligns with the broader efforts in the region to engage local communities in reforestation efforts. For instance, Trillion Trees supports the development of Community Forest Associations and local tree-growing nurseries across Mt Kenya, emphasizing the importance of community leadership in forest restoration work. Their dedication to empowering the next generation of environmental stewards is crucial for the long-term success of such initiatives. By nurturing both the land and the minds that inhabit it, you’re ensuring a resilient ecosystem for generations to come. Keep up the fantastic work!

NGO, Community and Government collaboration is crucial for large-scale system protection in Southeast Angola. It's exciting to see the progress being made towards protecting one of the rare pristine river sources in the region. Check out the latest updates here: https://lnkd.in/g9pNvEUk