Conservation Halton’s Post

My perspectives on community-based and community-led conservation approaches: 1. Community-based is not synonymous to community-led! 2. Community-led approaches are those that are initiated, managed and led (decision making) by communities for communities. 3. Community-based may not be led by communities but have objectives centred on communities. Decision making is usually done by authorities like conservation agencies or government agencies on behave of communities. Therefore, elite capture is a likely feature in community-based approach. 4. Community-led is of higher order and should be the ultimate approach for conservation where communities live and interact with nature/environment in their respective ecosystems. Community-based should transcend to community-led. 5. Efforts should be exerted to finding ways of how the current community-based approaches can transcend to community-led approaches. Community-led approaches should be established and enhanced. #Communitybased #indigenouscommunities #biodiversityconservation

In June 2022, 1% for Open Space empowered High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) with a transformative $12,735 grant for three impactful stewardship initiatives in the Gunnison Valley. This marks the second grant to HCCA, showcasing our steadfast commitment to conservation. Over four years, our consistent support in stewardship projects has demonstrated profound, visible impacts. The funded projects, including Taylor Park Travel Management, Taylor Park Wetland Restoration, and Upper Gunnison Basin Wet Meadow Restoration, focus on healing landscapes affected by human influences, drought, and disrupted natural systems. Aligning with our mission, these efforts restore ecosystems and watersheds vital to the Gunnison Valley. While land conservation is paramount, the equal importance of preserving and revitalizing already protected lands is a core principle for 1% for Open Space.

Thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund a new phase of Cumbernauld Living Landscape, an ambitious partnership initiative with an ecosystem approach to land management, is set to begin. Led by the Trust, the Nurturing Natural Connections project will further enhance, restore and reconnect vital green spaces across #Cumbernauld, following an initial one-year development grant of £181,200. The development phase forms part of a six-year project to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change across the town’s green spaces and watercourses. Nurturing Natural Connections will build on more than a decade of successful partnership working in Cumbernauld to date. The previous four-year project completed last year and resulted in the planting of over 13,000 native trees; management of more than 4 hectares of wildflower meadows; removal of 950 large sacks of litter; restoration of approximately 5 hectares of peatbog; improvement of 3 kilometres of paths; attendance of more than 6,000 people to educational workshops, wellbeing sessions and practical conservation days; and 960 hours of local volunteers’ time to carry out conservation tasks. Read more. https://lnkd.in/dastFizd Tracy Lambert | North Lanarkshire Council | Ally Corbett | Glasgow City Region | The Conservation Volunteers | #LivingLandscapes #WorkingforWildlife #climatechange #natureconnection #greenspaces #bluespaces #wellbeing #ecosystems #biodiversity #funding #naturerestoration

Citadel EHS Joins Hands with OC Parks and Irvine Ranch Conservancy for a Day of Environmental Impact! 🌍🌱 Last Saturday, our team at Citadel EHS had the incredible opportunity to partner with OC Parks and Irvine Ranch Conservancy for a meaningful day at Limestone Canyon Regional Park in Irvine. Our volunteers, including the family members of our employees, rolled up their sleeves to make a difference in preserving our precious natural habitat. Our mission? Tackling the invasive Black Mustard (Brassica nigra), a persistent threat to the biodiversity of our local ecosystem. Black mustard can crowd out native plants, and its spread can increase the frequency of fires in chaparral and coastal sage scrub. With dedication and passion, our team joined forces to weed out this menace, one plant at a time. But our efforts didn't stop there. We also took the opportunity to nurture and care for newly planted oak trees, symbolizing our commitment to the long-term sustainability of our environment. By caring for these young trees, we're not just planting seeds for today but laying the foundation for a greener, healthier tomorrow. At Citadel EHS, we firmly believe in the power of social responsibility. Together, we can achieve remarkable things. #CitadelEHS #EnvironmentalStewardship #SocialResponsibility #CommunityImpact #LimestoneCanyon #OCParks #IrvineRanchConservancy #Sustainability #EnvironmentalConsulting #Teamwork #Volunteerism #MakeADifference

Community conservation is growing. Unfortunately, the funding and support we have set up for it isn't working. 🐀 🌿 💰 We commissioned Marie Doole from Mātaki Environmental to work out how to fix it. Her report doesn’t just sound an alarm, but it offers a lifeline providing tangible, achievable solutions (https://lnkd.in/gN2N_hTF). Community conservation groups, agencies and funders can use this report not only to survive, but thrive. It’s clear that the community is an important part of the larger system of conservation in Aotearoa. Predator Free New Zealand Trust chief executive Jessi Morgan recaps, “we have to reframe conservation and nature not as a “cost” but as an investment in our economic, social, and environmental future. And what’s more important than that?" Read the summary report: https://lnkd.in/gM9zfVDi Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/gYDQCic2

🌱 Planning Conservation with the Community in Mind🤝 Conservation isn't just about protecting nature—it's about people too. When we engage communities in conservation planning, we: 1️⃣ Ensure sustainability by addressing both environmental and social needs. 2️⃣ Empower local communities to take ownership of their natural resources. 3️⃣ Create long-term solutions that benefit both ecosystems and livelihoods. In this photo, Derick Wanjala and Victor Ndombi from Save the Elephants were engaging with villagers in Kajire, incorporating local knowledge as they planned for a human-elephant coexistence project there. By working directly with communities, we can foster sustainable solutions that benefit both wildlife and people. 🌍 When nature thrives, so do communities. Let’s continue working together for a future where people and nature coexist in harmony. 🌿 #Conservation #CommunityEngagement #SustainableDevelopment #PeopleAndNature #ConservationPlanning #HumanWildlifeCoexistence

Our latest blog dives into a fascinating meta-analysis of governance in community conservation efforts around the world. Neil Dawson and colleagues reviewed 648 studies from 99 countries (!) to develop a ladder of community governance types, from total exclusion at the bottom to complete autonomy at the top. They then compared the conservation and social outcomes for each of these levels using subsets of their original dataset. What they found is powerful: greater power to communities = better conservation and social outcomes! Here, we reflect on what this study means for southern African communities that are at various levels of the governance ladder, and how they could go about climbing to the top. What are your thoughts? How do we keep climbing to benefit wildlife and people? https://lnkd.in/dggEU-Sh

Check out the latest blog by our partners Resource Africa, featuring a fascinating meta-analysis by Neil Dawson et al. on governance in community conservation efforts worldwide. The bottom line of their findings is compelling: "If Indigenous peoples and local communities succeed in climbing the governance ladder, we all win. Improved conservation outcomes will help achieve the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework, while better social outcomes align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development." Read more about it below! #CommunityConservation #Governance #SustainableDevelopment

A recent SWIO regional policy review conducted by WWF has found that countries have developed national policies to provide communities with rights and benefits in natural resource management, including mangroves. However, realising these rights and benefits faces several challenges, including tensions arising from duplicate or ambiguous policies, limited institutional and financial capacity to support policy intentions and a lack of coordinated support to expand and sustain community-based mangrove management. Conservation that is #communityled is a cornerstone of WWF-SWIO’s work in #SWIO. Although having these policies in place provides us with a springboard to reach our 2030 goal of 20 million hectares of community-managed area, we first need to address the obstacles to realising community rights and benefits in mangrove management. As such, WWF has provided several recommendations to navigate and improve the policy landscape for strengthened community rights and benefits in mangrove management. These recommendations include developing and finalising a regional mangrove strategy and action plan that addresses policy pitfalls, clarifies the concept of community rights in mangrove management and supports national mangrove management strategies. Find out about SWIO’s work regarding community-led conservation here: https://lnkd.in/d9uc_SjT

Community-based organizations often negotiate with private partners to use their natural resources in return for income, jobs, or other benefits. How do these communities know if the deal that they are being offered is good or not? That is the question we seek to answer with our partners SULi - IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group with a questionnaire aimed at people closely involved with community conservation. Find out more about the survey in our blog, and answer our survey (link at the bottom of the blog) if you work for/with a community-based organization!  https://lnkd.in/dxBmM4js