4 Ways USAID Promotes Community-Based Conservation

For decades, we’ve partnered with communities to strengthen resource rights and conserve forests and wildlife

In Bajhang District, Nepal, community members sustainably harvest lokta bark from the forest areas, which is processed into paper. / Jason Houston for USAID

Around the world, conservation and development efforts are more sustainable when led by local people. USAID has been a leader in community-based conservation for decades, vastly expanding land, marine, and coastal areas under conservation management. These programs have conserved wildlife and forests that absorb greenhouse gases, while improving governance, security, and economic growth for some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Left: Ecotourism, like safaris in Nepal’s Kumrose Community Forest, provides an alternative to forest-dependent livelihoods. Right: Community members in Nepal, particularly Indigenous Peoples, rely on sustainably harvesting non-timber products from the community forests. / Jason Houston for USAID

1. Community Forestry

USAID began supporting community forestry user groups in Nepal in 1994, and there are now more than 22,000 of them sustainably managing and benefiting from their forests. With USAID training, forestry user group members have improved forest governance and taken on leadership roles. As a result of community-led management, biodiversity and forest health are improving; forests can now absorb more of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that causes global warming. Simultaneously, the groups have learned how to sustainably use forest resources to increase their incomes, such as through ecotourism.

Learn more key lessons from USAID’s work integrating community resilience, climate adaptation, and biodiversity conservation in Nepal.

Left: Mario Mendez extracts gum from trees in one of the Melchor de Mencos Community Forest Concessions located in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve. Right: The Cooperativa Integral de Comercialización Carmelita sawmill in Carmelita sustainably harvests mahogany and other timber from its community forest concession. Carmelita was the first concession in the region 22 years ago. / Jason Houston for USAID

USAID has funded conservation in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve for more than three decades. The local forest concession system, which allows communities to manage forests and harvest sustainable amounts of timber and non-timber forest products, has become a global model for community-based forest management. For nearly 22 years, these concessions have reduced deforestation and fires and maintained tree cover on more than 450,000 hectares. Community members can sell their forest products internationally, increasing incomes well above the Guatemalan minimum wage and generating sustainable employment. In fact, between 2013–20, the community concessions created more than 23,000 permanent and seasonal jobs, generated over $52 million in sales of products and services, and invested up to 30% of profits into local schools, rural infrastructure, healthcare, and scholarships. The system demonstrates how economic development, natural resource conservation, and climate change mitigation can all be achieved at once.

The Hatunuru community was among the first villages in West Seram, Maluku, Indonesia, to establish a no-take zone in their traditional marine waters. / Sandra Tjan for USAID

Left: Fishers sell their catches in Maluku Province, Indonesia. / USAID Right: Local communities are leading Indonesia’s leatherback conservation efforts. / Samantha Martin, USAID

2. Locally Managed Marine And Coastal Areas

Communities with land, marine, and resource rights are more likely to invest in sustainable livelihoods and conserve their natural resources.

For the past 30 years, the United States has supported Indonesia’s commitment to natural resource management, including empowering local champions to lead community-based conservation efforts. With USAID support, the Indonesia Locally Managed Marine Area Foundation implemented a community-based approach in Maluku, Indonesia, helping communities identify traditional marine areas to set aside for official protection and conservation. Twenty-four communities successfully established locally managed marine areas that are now recognized by the Government of Indonesia.

Dive into more reflections on 30 years of USAID environment and natural resource management activities in Indonesia.

Community members in Palawan in the Philippines gather data every day to track the overall fish population to ensure their local marine protected area is effectively managed. / Tory Read for USAID

Left: Fishers in the Calamianes Island Group combine traditional practices with new management tools to effectively use and conserve marine resources. / USAID Right: Fishers haul in nets in a marine sanctuary in the Visayan Sea in Capiz, Philippines. / Romwell Mari Sanchez for USAID

Similar locally led efforts in the Philippines have expanded management of habitat and fisheries to 1.8 million hectares of municipal marine waters — an area in size greater than Connecticut and Delaware combined. As fish stocks have improved, so have employment and marine governance, ensuring that benefits from fisheries are equitably shared in communities. USAID’s long-running partnerships in the Philippines have also focused on strengthening the rights of Indigenous Peoples with ancestral domains, helping to ensure long-term sustainable use of the area’s resources.

Nomadic Himba people ride through the Marienfluss Conservancy in Namibia, one of dozens of community-managed conservation areas covering about one-sixth of the country’s land area and benefiting thousands of Namibians. / Steve Felton, WWF

Left: Marinefluss Conservancy members meet in Namibia, where initiatives promote sustainable wildlife management on communal land. / Steve Felton, WWF Right: USAID helped rural Namibians acquire authority and training to sustainably manage and benefit from wildlife. Populations of springbok, oryx, and Hartmann’s mountain zebra increased from less than 1,000 each in 1982 to more than 139,000, 24,500, and 17,700, respectively, by 2006. / Axel Tschentscher

3. Community Conservancies

Before Namibia’s independence in 1990, wildlife populations had plummeted from poaching. For 15 years, USAID invested in reversing these declines while emphasizing the involvement of all community members, leading to recovery of wildlife populations and expanded economic opportunities for communities. Today, 52 community-based conservancies in Namibia manage more than 12 million hectares of land and benefit 223,000 previously disad­vantaged Namibians. The conservancies also promote inclusive participation; women comprise more than 50% of members.

Through Kenya’s community conservancy model, community management and sustainable enterprises, such as crafting and beadworks, are improving income in areas with historically few economic options. / Solomon Onyata, USAID

Left: Wildlife conservancy rangers use GPS technology to track poachers and protect wildlife. Right: Many conservancy teams collect data on key wildlife species. In Northern Kenya, the latest data show that sightings of elephants and Grevy’s zebras significantly increased in 2019. / Mwangi Kirubi, USAID

In Kenya, 11 percent of land has been conserved, including more than 65 percent of wildlife living outside of national parks and reserves. For more than 20 years, USAID has partnered with community and private wildlife conservancies and associations to both conserve wildlife and secure sustainable livelihoods. Conservation efforts have grown to incorporate savannah, forest, and coastal marine ecosystems. USAID’s partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) supports improved land and resource policies, community governance systems, resilience to climate change, and empowerment of women and youth. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, KWCA advocated successfully for a historic allocation of $10 million for conservancies through the COVID economic stimulus package — marking the Government of Kenya’s first ever commitment to supporting conservancies. This investment bolsters the ongoing support to conservancies from several county governments, which were vital last year to cushion conservancies against COVID impacts.

Check out the video “Community-led Conservancies — Borrowing From The Future” to learn more about the power of community conservation in Kenya.

Yasuni National Park’s rich biodiversity boasts 4,000 species of plants, at least 70 mammal species, more than 500 species of birds, and more than 400 fish species. It is also home to the last Waorani and Kichwa communities, who co-manage the area with the Ecuadorian government. / Sara y Tzunki, Flickr

Left: USAID’s investments in co-management in Ecuador bring together diverse actors to improve conservation action and protect the country’s rich biodiversity. / Julie Larsen Maher, Wildlife Conservation Society Right: Sustainable livelihoods, such as the Indigenous Peoples-owned Sani Lodge in Yasuní National Park, improve incomes and opportunities for rural communities while protecting the park. / Scott Lampman, USAID

4. Community Co-management

Co-management of natural resources involves collaboration and shared responsibility between government and non-government actors; while often complex and time consuming to put in place, it can be an effective way to build community participation while harnessing governmental authority and expertise. For 10 years in Ecuador, USAID invested in improved co-management of the Greater Yasuní-Napo Moist Forest Landscape Conservation Area, which boasts some of the world’s richest biodiversity. To better conserve and protect this natural wealth, USAID helped to create a Yasuní Biosphere Reserve Management Committee that ensures effective conservation, climate-aware practices, and improved livelihoods in the area. Including representatives from Indigenous Peoples organizations and government institutions, the committee was officially recognized by the Ministry of Environment in 2008. This work set the stage for a national network of biosphere reserves and co-management initiatives that are strengthening participation in protected areas management in Ecuador.

About the Author

Tiffany Gibert is a senior communications specialist for Environmental Incentives, supporting USAID’s Sharing Environment and Energy Knowledge and Measuring Impact II activities.