In striving toward a future which supports both sustainable conservation and human well-being, Conservation International (CI) has developed a draft Environmental and Social Management Framework. This framework is being designed to ensure systematic and transparent management of environmental and social risks in CI’s work. The goal is to not only avoid and minimize adverse risks and impacts but also to identify opportunities for improving environmental and social outcomes. To make the vision of a sustainable and equitable future a reality, it is essential that all people have a voice in and share benefits from the sustainable use of land and resources.

Indigenous peoples and local communities frequently play an inextricable role in the sustainable management of their lands and territories, living close to the land and ensuring its use for future generations. CI recognizes this stewardship of nature as an important determinant not only of economic and ecosystem health, but also of human well-being. Once fully implemented, CI’s Environmental and Social Management Framework will help ensure respect for the rights and roles of these communities, and individual women and men, in managing the world’s natural resources.

In this session, CI sought feedback from indigenous peoples, local communities, gender and social experts, and conservation peers on our draft Environmental and Social Management Framework. We explored three central questions:

• What benefits can a safeguard system generate for communities and project participants?
• Can a safeguard system fall short of protecting community and individual rights?
• What steps should CI take to create a safeguard system to meet our goal: that all women and men have an equitable voice in and benefit from the sustainable use of land and resources?

Key Themes:

Engagement, Education & Empowerment, Indigenous Issues, Factors of Success in Community Conservation

Presenters:

Adrienne McKeehan (Conservation Initiative on Human Rights/ Conservation International)

Alli Cruz (Conservation International)

Presented Material:

An intergenerational panel (consisting of a member from the Statutory Māori Advisory Committee, the Manahautū (General Manager Māori) and a Youth member of the Māori Policy and Operations Unit at the Environmental Protection Authority) discussed the influence of Māori (the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa, New Zealand) on the policies and practices of the New Zealand Environmental Protection Authority, a Crown agent, in its decision-making. In particular, the panel highlights how incorporating Māori perspectives, Mātauranga Māori (Māori traditional knowledge) and the direct involvement of Māori through a statutory Māori Advisory Committee, Ngā Kaihautū Tikanga Taiao, has managed to affect policy, practice and standards of evidence in a mutually beneficial way.

The journey has not been an easy one and has taken over 20 years through changing political and Māori priorities, but it has nevertheless managed to continue to move forward and evolve.

This session was an opportunity for learning and an exchange of experiences and knowledge, to build partnerships and to help shape the future of how government organisations meaningfully engage with indigenous peoples.

Key Themes:

Indigenous Issues, Governance, Rights & Conflict, Engagement, Education & Empowerment, Climate & Environmental Changes

Presenters:

Doug Jones (Te Mana Rauhī Taiao – Environmental Protection Authority)

Te Taiawatea Moko-Mead (Te Mana Rauhī Taiao – Environmental Protection Authority)

Presented Material:

Dispossession and restricted access of Indigenous Peoples to traditional lands and waters are a common feature in many of the world’s coastal areas due to the economic value of resources found in the coastal zone (e.g., mineral resources, forest products, wildlife, and fisheries resources) and the disregard for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, cultural practices and systems of governance. This ongoing disregard for indigenous peoples’ rights and needs continues despite the existence of a raft of international and regional instruments to respect and protect such rights. Here we examine the dispossession of local indigenous people to traditional fishing grounds and adjacent lands in South Africa and Canada’s Pacific Northwest Coast and the struggles and strategies employed to secure rights of access to these areas and resources. Dispossession and restricted access have been a feature of South Africa and Canada’s socio-political past from earliest Colonial times until the present time. From early Colonial times in Canada and in South Africa, forced removals of Indigenous Peoples from traditional lands, restrictions on customary fishing, hunting and forestry practices were largely driven by racially based ideologies supported by discriminatory policies and laws that facilitated ownership of and access to common pool resources for a particular sector of the population. However, despite the demise of these oppressive and discriminatory regimes and the promulgation of legal provisions in both countries to support redress and restoration of socio-economic rights, these rights have not been secured and customary systems of marine resource governance have not been respected.

Key Themes:

Indigenous Issues, Governance, Rights & Conflict, Livelihoods, Engagement, Education & Empowerment

Presenters:

Merle Sowman (University of Cape Town)

Dawn Foxcroft (Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council)

Don Hall (Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council)

Lissa Cowan (Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council)

During this session, presenters offered comparative account of the struggles of traditional fishers in South Africa and the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations in Canada to have their socio-economic rights to fisheries resources recognised and restored. A historical review of the two contexts, outlining the marginalisation and exclusion of these groups from the mainstream economy, examines the efforts and strategies of traditional fishers to have their rights to marine resources recognised through legal action.

Presented Material:

Lawaiʻa pono means to fish righteously, in ways that honor the time-tested values and sustainable practices of our kūpuna (ancestors).  Mālama ʻāina (to care for that which feeds; biocultural resources) is a challenge shared by island nations and indigenous and local communities worldwide. Traditional natural resource management practices in Hawai’i drew upon the place-based knowledge, observations, and experiences of community members and local experts known as “konohiki.” Hawaiians once used these konohiki systems and traditions to ensure an abundance of resources from the mountains to the sea.

Through short film presentations and discussions, this session touched on some of the experiences of communities from around Hawaiʻi who work with state and federal government, conservation partners, researchers and landowners, to implement community-based management solutions for their places.  Presenters shared insight about the role of Community-Based biocultural management in Hawaiʻi in the nearshore environment and the place-based fishing practices and stewardship efforts they have implemented to pass on traditional fishing knowledge and values to perpetuate the practice of “lawaiʻa pono.”  Representatives shared how the collective efforts of grassroots communities empowers community conservation, enhances community health and well-being, and ensures a future of healthy abundant resources for generations to come.

Key Themes:

Indigenous Issues, Livelihoods, Governance, Rights & Conflict, Climate & Environmental Changes

Films presented:

THE HOAʻĀINA OF HĀʻENA – In 2015, a group of lineal families on the north coast of Kauaʻi successfully worked with the State of Hawaiʻi to establish Hawaiʻi’s first Community-based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA). This short film tells the inspirational story of a rural Hawaiian community’s journey to perpetuate the traditional and customary practices of their ancestors and the collective effort it took to make it happen.

HANAI KO’A: CULTURE KEEPERS – A short produce by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on the ʻōpelu fishing families of Hoʻokena, Hawaiʻi.

Presenters:

Kevin Chang (Kua ʻĀina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA))

Mehana Vaughan (University of Hawaiʻi)

Shaelene Kamaka’ala (State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources Community-based Fisheries Planner; Kahana Kilo Kai; E Alu Pu Council (O’ahu Island))

Charles Young (Kama’aina United to Protect the ‘Aina (KUPA); Kai Kuleana Network, West Hawai’i Fisheries Council; E Alu Pu Council (Hawai’i Island))

Solomon Kaho’ohalahala (Maunalei Ahupuaʻa Community Mauka-Makai Managed Area (Maunalei Ahupuaʻa CMMMA), E Alu Pu Council (Lana’i island))

“Over the years, environmental organizations have been increasingly recognizing the value of engaging underrepresented groups in conservation efforts. However, for many organizations, engaging diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been difficult to implement effectively. One major problem is the difficulty of reconciling the Western conservation mission of safeguarding the world’s ecosystems with the knowledge, interests, values, issues, and protocols of people who have been historically excluded from the environmental movement. In many cases, ideas and practices considered “normal” in conservation circles are predicated on white, male, Christian, middle/upper class ideologies that privilege Western knowledge, economic efficiency, and paternalistic authority. While these biases are often enacted unconsciously, they greatly impact conservationists’ interactions with Indigenous and other communities of color in ways that they often fail to apprehend. In order to engage underrepresented groups in equitable and effective partnerships, we must question “normal” ways of thinking and behaving. In this session, we challenge “normal” by centering the inner work of DEI using a hybrid of Indigenous, Black, and common Western learning methods. We will begin the session by looking at current literature on organizational diversity through the lenses of Black and Anishinaabe perspectives in order to understand how racial stereotyping and “us vs. them” behavior that can occur within conservation organizations. Afterwards, the audience will be invited to participate in a sharing circle where Anishinaabe protocol and process will be utilized to talk about how we can challenge stereotyping and other exclusionary behaviors in our work. The goal of this session is to focus on DEI as a multi-faceted process of self-reflection and discovery that helps to open up spaces of compassion for having difficult dialogues about our differences and similarities as well their implications for engaging DEI in conservation.”

-Janae Davis (Clark University), Mackenzie Lespérance (rare Charitable Research Reserve)

Key Themes:

Governance, Rights & Conflict, Indigenous Issues, Factors of Success in Community Conservation

The integration of indigenous knowledge and social science into conservation is essential for addressing 21^st century challenges for conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources. This integration requires, in many cases, organizational transformation for effective conservation science, policy, and practice, and this begins with better understanding of recipes for success and lessons learned by early adopters. While research has discussed barriers to integration and disconnects between social and natural scientists, as well as between scientists and knowledge producers, it has rarely addressed how to support individuals in pioneering positions to overcome challenges, particularly with regard to integrating indigenous peoples and local communities and their traditional knowledge. Connections between scientists, practitioners and community members are essential, as different types of knowledge can learn from each other. We are exploring building a community of practice and sharing insights learned in this session as a starting point. Community members can benefit from understanding how their knowledge can inform research and conservation action and their voice and participation in this conversation is invaluable.

Key discussion topics:

• Experiences integrating indigenous and local knowledge and social sciences into conservation science, organizations and projects,
• What happens after research or projects are designed and undertaken; who owns or gets to use data? How are results shared? How to deal with data repatriation?
• Sharing success stories: what projects or organizations are already integrating indigenous knowledge and social sciences into conservation and what can we learn from them?

Key Themes:

Factors of Success in Community Conservation, Indigenous Issues, Livelihoods, Engagement, Education & Empowerment

Presented Material:

Speakers:

Seline Meijer (IUCN), Kathleen E Halvorsen (Michigan Technological University), Erin Pischke (Michigan Technological University), Pasang Dolma Sherpa (CIPRED), Osvaldo Munguia (MOPAWI)

The resources found on this page share a focus on the importance of sacred natural sites and the cultures, religions and/or communities to whom they are significant. These natural places, recognized as sacred by indigenous and local communities, provide a sense of deep connection between people and nature. Dating back hundreds of years in many cases, these locations serve as sites of remembrance and spirituality, and are often home to rich and diverse flora and fauna.

Information regarding the protection and preservation of these sites, comparative governance systems, conflict arising through competition for resource use and/or authority over resource management, as well as the social-cultural values imbued within these landscapes is presented with perspectives from sites in Mozambique, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Mexico and Canada. Traditional use and access rights are emphasized through several of the cases shared on this page, along with numerous local accounts, observations and perceptions gathered through interviews and collaboration with traditional leaders and community members.

Key Themes:

Governance, Rights & Conflict, Places & Spaces, Indigenous Issues, Engagement, Education & Empowerment

Click titles to expand sections below:

In the last decade, governments, donors, UN agencies, grassroots organizations and non-governmental organizations have increasingly understood that healthy environments are necessary to realize many fundamental human rights, and that realizing human rights is essential for achieving durable conservation outcomes. Nonetheless, progress on translating this insight into consistent action has been fitful. While organizations in both the conservation and rights communities have undertaken initiatives to promote rights-based approaches to conservation, these efforts have rarely produced the sustained collaboration and action that is necessary to see measurable improvements for both communities and conservation.

Key concerns discussed include:

• What can we do to overcome the slow pace of national policy and institutional reforms and implementation? How can more active collaboration among conservation and human rights actors influence change on the part of governments and other powerful actors?
• There is a lack of a consolidated set of standards that clearly articulates the human rights obligations of conservation actors (government and non-government), as a basis for their implementation and monitoring. What would good practice look like, and what are examples you have already seen or experienced?
• How do we address the lack of sufficiently effective mechanisms to resolve conflicts, particularly around protected areas? Are there any that already work well? How could they be improved upon?

Key Themes:

Governance, Rights & Conflict, Livelihoods, Engagement, Education & Empowerment, Conserved Areas

Presenters:

Jenny Springer (CEESP Theme on Governance, Equity and Rights)

Adrienne McKeehan (Conservation Initiative on Human Rights/ Conservation International)

Michael Painter (Wildlife Conservation Society)

Justin Kenrick (Forest Peoples Programme)

In spite of its relevance, the multidimensional role that biodiversity plays in the wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples remains poorly understood. The absence of mechanisms for decision-makers to systematically consider local uses and values can result in interventions that convert or damage critical aspects of biodiversity vital to livelihoods and wellbeing.

This panel represents a collaboration between the People in Nature initiative and the CEESP Theme on Wellbeing and Sustainable Livelihoods. Its provided a forum to present results of assessments as well as for scholars and other initiatives to share work on the multidimensional contributions of biodiversity to the wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples. This discussion examined the challenges, opportunities and trends in this area of research and practice.

This session resulted in a discussion analyzing a variety of perspectives regarding best practice in data collection,  and how documentation and understanding of local contexts is relevant to policy formulation and development interventions – and can result in tangible improvements for communities, conservation and livelihoods.

Key Themes:

Engagement, Education & Empowerment, Wildlife & Fisheries, Indigenous Issues

Presenters:

C. Julián Idrobo (Universidad de los Andes),

Helen Suich (Australian National University)

Iain J. Davidson-hunt (University of Manitoba)

Neil Dawson (University of East Anglia)

Derek Johnson (University of Manitoba)

Material Presented:

Here, four Nova Scotia communities are highlighted in a celebration of community level governance, traditions, and culture. At the first plenary event of the 2018 Communities, Conservation and Livelihoods conference, speakers shared insight, experience and reflections from their respective communities.

Bear River First Nation was presented by Christiana Louwa (an indigenous woman from Kenya, director of the El Molo Forum, and co-chair of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples) on behalf of Dr. Sherry Pictou, a Mi’kmaw woman from L’sɨtkuk (water cuts through high rocks) who works in Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. She has served the broader Mi’kmaw community in several capacities including being elected Chief for her community and as a former co-chair of the World Forum of Fisher People.

Sheet Harbour was showcased by Sandra Moser, Executive Director, Sheet Harbour Chamber of Commerce & Civic Affairs. She described local work taking place in community development and in developing Eastern Shore-wide sustainable tourism through the Wild Islands Tourism Advancement Partnership.

The entrepreneurial cultural work of the Eskasoni First Nation was detailed by Stan Johnson, who spoke about environmentally sustainable promotion, development of ecotourism businesses such as guided walks on Goat Island Trail, and work with fisheries. Stan is a Mi’kmaq from Eskasoni, in Cape Breton, with 10 years’ experience at the Eskasoni Economic Development Corporation.

Spryfield (a neighbourhood of Halifax) was presented by Bruce Holland, founding member of the Spryfield Business Association and Parkview newspaper. He provided insight regarding how business development and community spirit go hand-in-hand.

Key Themes:

Governance, Rights & Conflict,  Indigenous Issues,  Engagement, Education & Empowerment,  Places & Spaces

Video and presented material:

Note that the video is ‘audio only’ for the first 7 minutes. Below the video is a visual PowerPoint that opens in a new tab when clicked.