OUR BOTTOM-UP APPROACH
We take a different approach to conserving the world’s most biologically diverse regions. We foster solutions that originate with local people rather than prescribing our own from afar. Our staff members live in the places they protect. As trusted neighbors, they build strong relationships and work directly with local and indigenous communities to define and achieve their own conservation goals, from protection of ecosystems to the sustainable use of land and preservation of native cultures.
We have an expert team of conservationists, biologists, lawyers, and geographers that support governments and local communities with technical and legal studies, and help guide the process of officially declaring protected areas.
We assist indigenous and local people in maintaining connections to their lands, with support to strengthen land titles, establish community conservation areas, and generate income sustainably.
We provide biological surveying and analysis services including baseline biological studies, soil and water analysis, and species and ecosystem inventories.
We use our GIS mapping capabilities to clearly define project boundaries, watersheds, and community land use.
Our on-staff lawyers specialize in land tenure and protected areas creation.
We have the relationships and know-how to harness community consensus and guide projects through regulatory and government approval processes.
When we contemplate a new protected area, we think through its whole life cycle: from legal creation to financing and long-term management. We work hard to see the areas we help create become sustainable.
