Communities, Conservation & Livelihoods

A New Book from CCRN (co-published with IUCN-CEESP)

Communities, Conservation and Livelihoods is a new and freely-available book that focuses on the role of local communities, around the world, in conserving their environment while sustaining their local economies and livelihoods. It explores the conservation initiatives of communities, what motivates them, and what outcomes can be achieved for biodiversity and for livelihoods. The book looks at how decision-making works, how power is handled, and how Indigenous realities arise around the globe. Communities, Conservation and Livelihoods also takes us travelling, through community stories from around the world, in which local action brings local solutions, when people work together for a common cause.

Communities, Conservation and Livelihoods, co-published by CCRN & IUCN-CEESP, covers issues and ideas in a way that should be of value to local communities, community groups, non-governmental organizations, government policymakers, and educational bodies (e.g., high school, college, university, adult education), among others. The book highlights how environmental conservation and sustainable livelihoods support one another, as communities bring positive change, and lead the way toward a sustainable world.

From the Preface to “Communities, Conservation and Livelihoods” 

“In every country of the world, in urban neighbourhoods and rural towns and villages, people are coming together in their communities to find solutions that sustain their livelihoods and maintain, or restore, healthy local environments.”

“This book celebrates the efforts of local communities, literally thousands of them the world over, all seeking to resolve the essential challenge of conservation and livelihoods.”

“The book reflects the results of over a decade of studies focusing on communities, conservation and livelihoods, through the Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN), a global initiative that involves a wide range of Indigenous, academic, community and non-governmental organisations…”

“As we live through the COVID-19 pandemic… the need for collective action has never been greater. This book contains many inspiring stories of collective action of communities around the world, as they address and, in many cases, solve local challenges of environment and livelihoods. Although these stories reflect experiences before COVID-19, within them are ingredients of collective action that we need to move forward today.”

CCRN Book Launch Event (CCRN & CEESP)

Watch the Video about the Book

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction
Anthony Charles
Chapter 2 Community-based approaches for linking conservation and livelihoods
Anthony Charles and Fikret Berkes
Chapter 3 A social-ecological systems lens for community conservation 
Fikret Berkes
Chapter 4 Meanings and motivations: communities and conservation 
Merle Sowman, Wayne Rice, A. Minerva Arce-Ibarra, Ivett Peña-Azcona
Chapter 5 Biodiversity outcomes of community conservation 
Philip Dearden, Bruce Downie, Juan Carlos Seijo and Anthony Charles
Chapter 6 Livelihood outcomes of community conservation
Cristiana S. Seixas, Laura Loucks and Sharmalene Mendis-Millard
Chapter 7 Governance and community conservation
Derek Armitage, Ana Carolina Esteves Dias, Ella-Kari Muhl, Mitsutaku Makino, Tawney Lem, Laura Loucks, Aoi Sugimoto
Chapter 8 Power in realising community conservation and livelihoods  
Prateep Kumar Nayak
Chapter 9 Indigenous perspectives on community conservation
Richard Nuna, Trudy Sable, Dawn Foxcroft and Marta da Graça Z. Simbine
Chapter 10 Concluding synthesis and highlights
Anthony Charles and Fikret Berkes
Postscript
Anthony Charles
Community Stories 
Koh Pitak Island, Thailand
Community conservation revitalises livelihoods and marine resources
Dachanee Emphandhu and Philip Dearden
Koh Sralao, Cambodia
Seas of change in a coastal fishing community
Furqan Asif, Jason Horlings and Melissa Marschke
Les Village, Bali, Indonesia
When conservation becomes a way of life
Humayra Secelia Muswar and Arif Satria
Haruku village, Maluku Province, Indonesia
Conservation embedded in tradition and culture
Ahmad Mony and Arif Satria
São Luiz do Paraitinga and Catuçaba, Brazil
From land degradation and disaster to conservation and development
Camila A. Islas, Alice R. de Moraes, Juliana S. Farinaci and Cristiana S. Seixas
Vila dos Pescadores, Cubatão, state of São Paulo, Brazil
Community well-being, environmental challenges and livelihoods in a Brazilian mangrove shantytown
Cintia Nascimento
Punta Allen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Community-based ecosystem conservation – The spiny lobster fishery
Juan Carlos Seijo and Maren Headley
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Communities fighting food insecurity with self-sustaining initiatives
Sadie Beaton, Miranda Cobb, Will Fawcett-Hill, Marla MacLeod, Laura Mather, Tiffanie Rainville, Satya Ramen
Tsitsikamma, South Africa
Food security and livelihood threats from a marine protected area
Ella-Kari Muhl
Olifants Estuary, South Africa
Community fishing rights, conservation, and threats from mining
Merle Sowman
Chilika Lagoon, India 
Reflections on community conservation 
Prateep Kumar Nayak
Qeshm Island, Iran
Community-led conservation and ecotourism
Razieh Ghayoumi and Anthony Charles
Indigenous communities in Bolivia’s northern Amazon
Opportunities and challenges
Alison Macnaughton
Clayoquot Sound, Canada
Community engagement in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
Laura Loucks

Produced by:

Co-Published by: