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Community managed nature protection

We view direct community-led action vital for sustainable change.

Involving communities in conserving biodiversity is essential if we want to succeed in safeguarding our environment. Only when communities see the benefit of stable species populations and ecosystems, we may achieve a world where humans live in harmony with nature, without threatening species, ecosystems, or local livelihoods.

Protection and safeguarding of threatened species or ecosystems can never be done without involving local communities that live with or within them. Only by involving these communities we may achieve the persistence of healthy species and ecosystems beyond the duration of conservation projects. Co-existence of people and wildlife results often in conflicts. Projects that aim to integrate conservation with livelihoods that demonstrable show benefits to people as well as biodiversity have a better chance of success than where one of the two is ignored. Telling stories about species is part of many local cultural practices and brings people closer to nature. Such cultural connections can draw people into decision making about their environment. It may change the perception of people towards these species. This may stimulate living with wildlife or in forests as a viable option for people. It may steer people away from more destructive ways of living in respect to their natural environment, but at the same time safeguarding the livelihoods of the local human communities.

Having communities directly lead the protection of threatened species or key ecosystems may forge solutions that are non-Western based and work better in local environments. Working with local communities and traditional knowledge or cultural beliefs helps anchor conservation in society and help achieve longer-lasting impact. There are many examples worldwide that show that co-existence without harming one or the other is possible.

The Van Tienhoven Foundation welcomes applications that are pragmatic in its approach and are directly led by local communities. Actions involve the protection of species and key ecosystems in the direct surroundings of these local communities. This may stimulate changes in policy and practice that are more sustainable.

More community managed nature protection projects

Community managed nature protection

Functionally Important of the Wrinkle-Lipped Free-Tailed Bat (Chaerephon plicatus) in Pest Control and its Guano Benefit for Local Community Livelihood in Cambodia

The wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat (Chaerephon plicatus) is an insectivorous bat species that can form large colonies of thousands of bats and typically roost in caves. About 7 1arge colonies of C. plicatus inhabiting limestone caves in Cambodia that may represent 97% of national population. They are believed to play role in pest suppression that delivered […]

Community managed nature protection

Conserving the Critically Endangered Javan Blue Flycatcher and habitats in the Menoreh landscape through improving economic livelihoods for local communities

Java blue catcher has been recently listed to Critically-endangered since it split from the wider range distribution species Hill-blue Flycatcher. The population is known to be small in range distribution in Java-island. One of the few remaining populations is in the Menoreh landscape where 78.57% is covered by agroforestry. this area is part of the […]

Community managed nature protection

Non-lethal strategies to mitigate human-felid conflict in a biodiversity hotspot (Magdalena Valley, Colombia)

The jaguar and the puma are the largest felids of the Neotropical region, having the important ecological role of top predators. Unfortunately, this same role has resulted in the emergence of conflict between these cats and humans when the former attack and eat rancher’s livestock. Human-felid conflict is widespread through the Magdalena River Valley of […]

Community managed nature protection

Developing a mobile enclosure to promote human-predator coexistence

Leopards are the last free-roaming large predator in the Western Cape, South Africa. These wide-ranging predators require huge tracts of suitable habitat, but a large proportion of the potential habitat available is adjacent to agricultural land – in many cases livestock farms. Farmers do experience livestock losses due to leopards, and in cases where they […]

Community managed nature protection

Qota Kaysay: Living Lake community bird conservation

The Q’ota Kausay project (from Aymara and Quechua words it means Living Lake), the project will take place in Titicaca National Reserve, a Peruvian Ramsar site. The project goal is to involve to Local communities in the conservation of Titicaca Lake in all their components; Biodiversity and Cultural importance alike. Through the implementation of different […]

Community managed nature protection

Restoration is the sustainability frontier for people, parks, and wildlife

Many national parks are being invaded by invasive plant species – and this is the case in Uganda. These invasive plants deprive animals of habitat and food and can spread to cover huge areas of what becomes unproductive land. Unfortunately, governments do not have the funds to pay to have these plants removed. At the […]

Community managed nature protection

Community led conservation and management of endangered scalloped hammerhead nursery areas

The hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) is one of the most threatened shark species globally. Characterizing and delimiting their birth and breeding areas is essential for their conservation. On the Pacific coast of Guatemala where we have monitored landings of neonate and juvenile since 2017 to date, we have seen that more than 95% of the […]

Van Tienhoven Foundation for International Nature Protection welcomes donations for all projects.

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