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 its partners demonstrated what’s possible when the people who depend most on the land are at the center of protecting it. Across five countries and dozens of communities, conservation moved forward not as a theory, but as lived practice with tangible outcomes.
2025 by the Numbers: A Year of Tangible Impact
Peru
- More than 300,000 acres of montane and dry forest secured under legal protection
- Finalized protection of the Bosques Remanentes del Morro y Refugio Sostenible de los Monos Tocones Conservation Concession
- Launched new livelihood initiatives supporting organic and fair-trade cacao production for Indigenous Awajún communities
Pampa del Burro Team in Peru
Nepal
- 21 wildlife species documented, including globally Vulnerable and nationally Endangered species
- Confirmed presence of leopard, blue cow, wild boar, and brown bear
- 57 local leaders trained across 18 Community Forest User Groups in wildlife monitoring and camera-trap deployment
Dr. Teri Allendorf leads a workshop in Nepal
Myanmar
- 785 native trees planted and wetlands restored
- 34 village leaders equipped with conservation and biodiversity management skills
- 731 students reached through the first school-based conservation education program in Pansau Sub-township
Naga community members make handmade litter bins
Malaysia (Borneo)
- Rare sightings of the elusive Bay Cat recorded through wildlife monitoring
- Expanded habitat restoration via native tree planting and invasive species removal
- Strengthened bioacoustic monitoring with dedicated field support
Orangutans caught on camera trap in Malaysia
Cameroon
- Launched sustainable agroforestry projects protecting chimpanzee habitat
- Trained and equipped Indigenous Baka community members with mobile wildlife-tracking tools
- Completed a second assessment of chimpanzee abundance and threats using camera trapping and reconnaissance walks
Partner Denis Ndeloh of CBBM in Cameroon
Beyond site-specific work, Community Conservation also trained 30 emerging conservation leaders globally, delivered lectures and mentorship worldwide, and released its first Community Conservation board game—a new educational tool designed to deepen public understanding of community-led conservation.
Why These Numbers Matter
These statistics aren’t isolated wins. They represent systems being strengthened, local capacity being built, and conservation outcomes designed to last.
Each acre protected, each leader trained, and each species documented contributes to a larger shift: conservation that is locally grounded, socially resilient, and capable of adapting over time.
A Measured Kind of Hope
Hope in conservation doesn’t come from grand promises. It comes from consistent, cumulative progress—from communities applying knowledge, protecting land, and stewarding ecosystems year after year.
The data from 2025 shows that our approach works. And our plans for 2026 are even more precise, more inclusive, and more durable.
In a time when environmental headlines often focus on loss, community-led conservation offers something rare: evidence that solutions are not only possible, but already unfolding.