28%
of global land area traditionally owned, managed, used or occupied by Indigenous peoples
Community Engagement
Engaging with those living closest to the animals and habitats we strive to protect is key to ensuring positive and sustained change. We are committed to working respectfully and collaboratively with communities to find lasting solutions that work for wildlife, people and the animals within their care.
28%
of global land area traditionally owned, managed, used or occupied by Indigenous peoples
80%
of the planet’s biodiversity is held in lands and waters conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities
100-300
million people in coastal areas are at increased risk of floods and hurricanes due to loss of coastal habitat protection
Unsustainable use of natural resources. Natural disasters. Socio-economic inequalities. The communities that bear the brunt of the most urgent and complex issues of our time must be at the heart of the solution.
Empowering Local Leaders
When an animal needs rescuing or a critical landscape faces devastation, local communities aren’t always included in identifying solutions. Yet the well-being of these people, the animals in their care and the wildlife around them are all inextricably linked and these communities often have invaluable traditional knowledge and experience that external decision-makers do not.
By listening to and learning from Indigenous peoples and local communities, we are able to co-create solutions to animal welfare and conservation challenges guided by those who know the land and animals best, and who are directly affected by the outcomes for years to come. Like in Myanmar, where we helped farmers ensure the cattle their families depend on are safe when flooding hits and that they are equipped to lead management of their village-level risk reduction efforts.
Our drive to find sustainable solutions rooted in local knowledge and leadership helps to empower local people to exercise their rights and ensure their voices are heard in local, regional and global decision making platforms. Our experience shows that when this happens both people and animals can successfully thrive together.
Creating Opportunities
Biodiversity loss and climate change are two of the most urgent risks of our time, threatening more animals and communities than ever before. Disadvantaged, vulnerable or marginalised communities are often the most severely impacted.
By partnering with indigenous and local communities to help ensure they can develop sustainable livelihood strategies that benefit people, animals and habitats, and build resilience to withstand and bounce back from challenges, we are creating new opportunities for people and animals to live together harmoniously.
Our collaborative approach focuses on ensuring inclusive participation so that all members of the community are able to join, benefit from and own conservation and animal welfare initiatives that impact them. In Amboseli, we developed a female-led and owned social enterprise where women were supported to develop a new source of income and invest profits back into education for young girls in their community.
Cultivating Coexistence
A growing global human population alongside changes in land use and climate have directly contributed to ever-increasing interactions and conflict between the needs and behaviour of animals and people. This often results in lost crops, livestock and pets, destruction of property, injury and death of wild animals and sadly, in some cases, the loss of human life.
By helping reduce the cost of living alongside wildlife, the communities we work with will not only be safer and better able to realise their own livelihood goals, but more likely to support and participate in conservation initiatives and reject retaliatory killing or persecution of wild animals. Like in Yunnan, China where a village-level early warning system, safety training for local residents and development of new income via beekeeping is helping people and elephants to live side by side peacefully.
Our commitment to working with communities to better understand the complex socio-economic and political factors contributing to human-wildlife conflict helps to ensure we can find sustainable solutions for increasing coexistence so that humans and animals have a place where they can not only survive, but thrive together.
#AllTogetherNow
building capacities of local communities and alliances to conserve and protect Kenya’s endangered species
See project#AllTogetherNow
empowering women to protect wildlife in Kenya
See project#AllTogetherNow
remote, but ready
See project#AllTogetherNow
saving Barbary macaques in one of their last remaining habitats
See project#AllTogetherNow
when a flood hits and cows are at risk, we use local knowledge to save them
See project#AllTogetherNow
animal health is human health
See project#AllTogetherNow
women with pets report domestic abuse a year later than women without pets
See project#AllTogetherNow
distance can’t get in the way of safeguarding dogs
See project#AllTogetherNow
leadership saves animal lives in the streets of Playa del Carmen
See project#AllTogetherNow
saving one elephant calf can make a big difference
See project#AllTogetherNow
we are giving elephants room to roam
See project#AllTogetherNow
a water supply system is saving people and animals in Malawi
See project#AllTogetherNow
the reappearance of wolves means relearning how to coexist
See projectstay in the know. be ready to act.
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