Top-Down vs. Community-Led Conservation in Cameroon: A Partner’s Perspective

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

The Role of Communities in Biodiversity Conservation in Myanmar

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

Community Forestry in Vulnerable Forest Regions of Nepal: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

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

Magic conservation bullets: The story of an elephant grain storage house

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.  โ€œWhat is this?โ€ 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

Impacts 2024

We and our partners, along with many communities around the globe, had a dynamic year. Read on to see the biggest accomplishments you, our donors, have made possible. DOING Community-based Conservation From July 2023 to June 2024, we worked with local communities around the world to protect biodiversity in their own backyardsโ€ฆ Thailand: Protecting Tigers … Continue reading Impacts 2024

The Power of Conservation: Insights and Action from Our Communities

https://youtu.be/Cy1QkWJkQG8?feature=shared Thank you to everyone who attended our end-of-year webinar on December 5th! Whether you were able to join us or not,ย you can watch the replay on our YouTube channel. It would also mean a lot to us if you would please: โœ…ย Subscribe to our channelโœ… Give our videos a thumbs upโœ… Comment on our … Continue reading The Power of Conservation: Insights and Action from Our Communities