The planet is facing many serious environmental threats, but never before have so many people been united in a common cause… protecting the environment around us. Around the globe, local communities are at the forefront in taking on the challenges – protecting and improving the air they breathe, the water they drink, the places they live in, the resources they use. Communities are finding conservation solutions locally, in their own neighbourhoods, while maintaining and creating sustainable livelihoods and local economies. Around the world, there are so many success stories, all deserving to be celebrated.

“There are thousands of communities around the world, all undertaking impressive conservation work that help to sustain local livelihoods,” said CCRN Director and Saint Mary’s University Professor, Dr. Tony Charles. “There really needs to be a greater appreciation of the global impact of all these small and local initiatives. This online tool literally puts these communities on the map, highlighting the global impact that people in their communities are having in protecting the environment and local economies.”

That is the idea behind the Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN), a global initiative focused on the links among conservation, sustainable livelihoods and supportive government policy. The CCRN places the spotlight on communities protecting their environment and sustaining their livelihoods – bringing together knowledge and experience from around the world, and making it widely available. That way, the CCRN enables communities to choose the best options that work for them, so they can take control of their own future – a future with a sustainable economy and a healthy environment.

At the heart of Communities in Action is an on-line interactive map displaying all of these local community experiences, provided directly by the communities, or by non-profit organizations, government agencies, civil society, researchers and others. This resource will help communities to highlight and share their stories with others, help decision-makers to see clearly the impressive extent of community initiatives globally, and help us all to better understand what works best in linking local conservation and healthy local economies.

The online tool lets communities share their successes in protecting their community, environment and livelihood with other groups around the world. By sharing these examples online – contributed by local community members, as well as non-profit organizations, government agencies, and researchers – other communities can use them or adapt them for use in their own community.

We are especially keen for Communities in Action to highlight stories coming directly from local communities, and from community-focused organizations, networks or coalitions. Accordingly, we welcome contributions to Communities in Action, each focused on a specific community, as an opportunity to share these community experiences from around the world. The idea is to literally “put communities on the map”!

The CCRN’s website (www.CommunityConservation.net) serves as a focal point for knowledge sharing and capacity building on the links between Communities, Conservation and Livelihoods, providing a hub for community-based conservation studies around the world. The website has a series of Community Stories, a variety of videos on communities dealing with environmental and livelihood challenges, and community resources for best connecting conservation and sustainable livelihoods.

The Tla-o-qui-aht, Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, To-quaht and Yuu-cluth-aht, members of the Nuu-chah-nulth group of nations, have called this region home for thousands of years. In order to support their community and ensure resources for future generations the Nuu-chah-nulth relied on a complex governance system consisting of a Ta’ii ha’wiih (Territory chief) at the top and managers responsible for different tracks of forest, rivers, fisheries and streams. These roles where hereditary and the knowledge of one generation was passed down to the next. Research has shown that the resource management practiced by the Nuu-chah-nulth was sustainable for at least 1,000 years. However, in the late 1800’s, the reserve system, residential schools, disease, and the Indian Act led to a shift in how resources were managed in Clayoquot Sound. Traditional sustainable practices exercised by the Nuu-chah-nulth were replaced with unsustainable industrial ones. This resulted in the destruction of salmon habitat, ecosystems and the decimation of whale populations.

In 1984 preparations were being made to harvest 90% of the timber on Meares Island, which contained the largest old growth forests in Clayoquot Sound. The Tla-o-qui-aht, who call the island home, decided to prevent the logging of Meares Island by declaring it a tribal park. Through a subsequent court case they where declared the rightful owners of the land, negating the logging company’s timber licence. However, the rest of Clayoquot Sound was not so fortunate and was subject to intense clear cut logging. This logging was heavily protested by First Nations and environmental groups in what became known as “The war in the woods”. These protests forced government action and in 1995 the government declared that logging in Clayoquot Sound could only be conducted if the recommendations of a scientific panel (which consisted of First Nation ha’wiih and knowledgeable elders) were followed. In 2000 through the efforts of the local community, UNESCO declared Clayoquot Sound a Biosphere Reserve.

Since becoming a biosphere reserve, the Clayoquot Sound community has worked to restore the ecosystem decimated by unsustainable resource use. The traditional management system practiced by the Nuu-chah-nulth is being re-introduced. A biosphere reserve trust has been established to help restore the regions streams, salmon populations and encourage sustainable livelihoods.

For more information on the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve enjoy Episode 2 of “Striking Balance”.

The featured image shows Joe Martin, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, master canoe carver. Credit for the featured image goes to Striking Balance.