Factors of Success in Community Conservation – Understanding the Enablers and Barriers to Local Environmental Stewardship

Local environmental stewardship activities occur across environments, geographies, social contexts and rural to urban gradients. Yet the success of these environmental stewardship initiatives is not a given in any given context. Would be stewards can face a number of barriers, such as capacity challenges, rapid environmental change, external social and market pressures, and lack of political will and motivation. This facilitated panel discussion explores the enablers and barriers to successful local environmental stewardship and potential solutions that might help communities to overcome the challenges that they face. Through bringing together presenters from across the Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN) with representatives from the IUCN Commission on Ecological, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), this panel helps synthesize insights from a broad number of case studies and contexts.

Panelists:

Prateep Nayak (University of Waterloo)

Merle Sowman (University of Cape Town)

Osvaldo Munguia (MOPAWI)

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))

Key Themes:

Engagement, Education & Empowerment, Factors of Success in Community Conservation, Wildlife and Fisheries, Climate & Environmental Changes

Video and presentation:

Panel Moderators:

Nathan Bennett (University of British Columbia), Sharmalene Mendis-Millard (Saint Mary’s University & CCRN)