We talk a lot about saving the planet, but real conservation starts with understanding.The books we are sharing in this blog post have changed how we see land, wildlife, people, and power. They go beyond headlines and hashtags, and into the lived realities of conservation: who it impacts, what’s at stake, and why simple answers … Continue reading 7 Reads for 2026

As the world heads into 2026, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of environmental challenges we face. Climate instability, habitat loss, and biodiversity decline can make progress feel distant or fragile. But community-led conservation tells a different story—one grounded in measurable results, local leadership, and steady, long-term change. In 2025, Community Conservation and … Continue reading What Community-Led Conservation Achieved in 2025

Preparing signboards for Naung Yan Lake in Myanmar. Signboards are a critical conservation tool because they publicly declare the protective measures and boundaries set by the community. Local Heroes, Global Impact Stories of species teetering on the edge of extinction, disappearing forests, and polluted rivers and oceans are now all too common. Every day brings another headline about … Continue reading How Community Conservation Is Turning Crisis into Renewal

From Empowering to Powering Communities:why we must strike the word empower from our conservation vocabulary At Community Conservation (CC), we think of communities not as passive recipients of aid but as leaders, stewards, and decision-makers. They already hold agency, responsibility, and authority in the landscapes they call home. And yet, we’ve noticed that we often … Continue reading We Don’t Use THAT Word

September is National Save a Tiger Month. While it's true that every month is save a tiger month at Community Conservation, we'd like to take this time to reflect on the beauty, power, and fragility of the world’s largest cat. Once roaming vast stretches of Asia, tigers have lost over 90% of their historic range. … Continue reading We Need Your Help to Save Tigers

Guest Contributor Adrian Odi-Eban of Community-Based Biosynergy Management (CBBM) Adrian Odi-Eban in the field Community conservation in Cameroon is often interpreted by international NGOs as the provision of alternative livelihoods to local and indigenous communities to reduce pressure on forests and encourage biodiversity protection, especially around protected areas. This strategy tends to reflect a top-down … Continue reading Top-Down vs. Community-Led Conservation in Cameroon: A Partner’s Perspective

A community member makes a handmade litter bin for the forest Building Communities for Conservation in Myanmar I have been working with the Smithsonian Institution on issues of biodiversity conservation in Myanmar since 1999. While SI worked to build the capacity for biodiversity conservation in many ways  (see this report to learn more), my contribution … Continue reading The Role of Communities in Biodiversity Conservation in Myanmar

A team of five students from the University of Wisconsin–Madison—Ali Mammadov, Ben Jaccard, Francie Fink, Gatiosso Traore, and Kanan Mammadov—recently took a deep dive into the future of Nepal’s forests. Under the guidance of Dr. Teri Allendorf, they wrote a 79-page cost-benefit analysis to find out if “community forestry” really works. So, what is community … Continue reading Community Forestry in Vulnerable Forest Regions of Nepal: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

With USAID being shut down, not only has so much good work stopped and people are losing their livelihoods, but a lot of great information is gone or no longer accessible. There's a report I want to share with our friends in Nepal about predator proof livestock enclosures, which is an example of an appropriate conservation … Continue reading USAID Is Gone—But This Resource Shouldn’t Be

From the desk of our Executive Director, Dr. Teri Allendorf:In 2019, in a village near Bardia National Park, I saw a house with one door and no windows and an elephant statue in the front.  “What is this?” I asked my friend, Laxmi. I have known Laxmi since 1995 when I interviewed her about her … Continue reading Magic conservation bullets: The story of an elephant grain storage house