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

We are hosting a live Q&A April 29th at 7:30 PM CT. We will talk about our 2026 trip to Belize and answer any questions you have about this opportunity, available activities or ongoing community conservation efforts in the country. You can join us for the talk by registering here. Even if you can't join … Continue reading Mark Your Calendars! (And Join Us in Belize!)

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 backyards… Thailand: Protecting Tigers … Continue reading Impacts 2024

In this video, Arjun Bastola, chairman of the Morang Community-Based Anti-Poaching Unit (CBAPU), speaks of the anti-poaching efforts underway in the community forests. https://youtu.be/fLo2VgaKdjg

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, you can watch the replay on our YouTube channel. It would also mean a lot to us if you would please: ✅ Subscribe to our channel✅ Give our videos a thumbs up✅ Comment on our … Continue reading The Power of Conservation: Insights and Action from Our Communities

Black spider monkeys (Ateles paniscus), also known as Guiana spider monkey or red-faced black spider monkey, are found in the tropical rainforests of Colombia. They are one of the rarest primate species in the world, and unfortunately, there is not a lot known about them. They are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for … Continue reading Saving Black Spider Monkeys: How  Community-Based Conservation in Colombia is Helping Them