Scaling Community-Led Conservation: Power, Partnerships, and Practice

​Event Description

Across the world, Indigenous Peoples and local communities are already leading some of the most effective conservation efforts. They are protecting ecosystems, managing natural resources, and building climate-resilient livelihoods. The challenge is no longer whether community-led approaches work, but whether the systems around them truly enable them to lead and scale.

This discussion explores what it takes to support and expand community-led conservation in practice. How do we move beyond pilot projects to models that are durable, adaptable, and locally owned? What role do partnerships, intermediaries, and financing mechanisms play in either enabling or constraining community leadership?

Drawing on experiences from diverse contexts, including fragile and conflict-affected settings, the session will examine how conservation efforts can simultaneously deliver biodiversity outcomes, livelihoods, and resilience. It will also explore how to strengthen local governance, reduce administrative burden, and ensure that communities can define and communicate their own success.

Bringing together practitioners, community leaders, funders, and policymakers, this session invites an honest conversation about what is working, what is not, and what needs to change to ensure that conservation efforts are truly led by the people closest to the land.

Speakers

• ​Chetana Nand Jha is Director of Operations at the Foundation for Ecological Security, leading programmes on land rights, resource management, and climate resilience.

• ​Bastiaan Boon is Director of Operations - Africa at Akashinga, advancing inclusive conservation strategies that protect wildlife and support local communities.

• ​Josephine Mejia Johnson is Development Officer at Planet Indonesia, supporting community-led environmental governance and conservation.

​Discussion Questions
What enables community-led conservation to succeed and scale, and where do current systems fall short?
How can partnerships and intermediaries better support, rather than constrain, local leadership and governance?
What financing models can channel resources directly to communities while supporting long-term impact and resilience?
How can community-led efforts better demonstrate and communicate their impact to influence broader conservation systems?

​Location & access
Accessibility matters deeply to us, and we do our best to choose spaces that reflect that. That said, some of our Oxford venues are in historic buildings without lifts. This room is unfortunately not accessible for wheelchair users, those with mobility challenges, or anyone needing step-free access.