28%
of global land area is traditionally owned, managed, used, or occupied by Indigenous peoples.
Community Engagement
We engage with those living closest to the animals and habitats we strive to protect to create positive and sustained change. We are committed to working respectfully and collaboratively with communities to find lasting solutions that work for wildlife, people, and the animals within their care.
28%
of global land area is traditionally owned, managed, used, or occupied by Indigenous peoples.
80%
of the planet’s biodiversity is held in lands and waters conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities.
100-300
million people in coastal areas are at increased risk of floods and hurricanes due to loss of coastal habitat protection.
Wild and domestic animals and the landscapes they call home have been and continue to be sources of local communities’ traditional ways of living. Most rural communities worldwide have inextricable linkages to these critical resources.
why community engagement matters
In the face of growing threats to this natural capital, compounded by climate change, the custodians of critical landscapes have been overlooked in conservation decisions for too long despite having invaluable traditional knowledge and experience. To sustainably manage critical landscapes, the need to involve local communities cannot be overemphasised.
The sustained success of our efforts to save and conserve animals and their habitats requires the engagement and support of Indigenous peoples and local communities living alongside wildlife across the landscapes where IFAW works. Our Community Engagement program works closely with partners to manage and implement socio-economic development initiatives that will achieve impactful and meaningful sustained change.
Our Community Engagement program aims to:
By listening to and learning from Indigenous people and local communities, we can co-create solutions to animal welfare and conservation challenges guided by those who know the land and animals best and are directly affected by the outcomes. All our community engagement interventions integrate local ways of learning while meeting community-identified educational gaps and aspirations of children, youth, and adults.
Community leadership helps to empower local people to exercise their rights and ensure their voices are heard in local, regional, and global decision-making platforms. Our experience shows that people and animals can successfully thrive together when this happens.
Cultivating Coexistence
Unsustainable land use practice and climate change have directly contributed to ever-increasing interactions and conflicts between animals and people. This often results in loss of crops, livestock, and pets; destruction of property; injury and death of wild animals; and sadly, in some cases, the loss of human life.
By helping reduce the cost of living alongside wildlife, the communities we work with will not only be safer but also more likely to support and participate in conservation initiatives and reject retaliatory killing or persecution of wild animals. In Yunnan, China, for instance, a village-level early warning system, safety training for residents, and development of new income via beekeeping are helping people to live peacefully alongside wildlife.
Our collaborative approach focuses on ensuring inclusive participation so that all community members can join, benefit from, and own conservation and animal welfare initiatives that impact them.
Our commitment to working with communities to better understand the complex socio-economic and political factors contributing to human-wildlife conflict helps us find sustainable solutions so that humans and animals can not only coexist, but also thrive.
Empowering women to protect wildlife in Kenya
See projectconserving Asian elephant populations through coexistence initiatives
See projectdistance can’t get in the way of safeguarding dogs
See projectleadership saves animal lives in the streets of Playa del Carmen
See projecthabitats cross borders—so do poachers
See projectwe are giving elephants room to roam
See projecta water supply system is saving people and animals in Malawi
See projectBlog
ifaw’s 2022 Animal Action Award winners
read morePress releases
three ways you can help koalas — protect a forest, plant a tree, phone a pollie
learn moePress releases
community heroes - first human elephant safety network established in China
read morePress releases
Australian teenager uses art to call for protection of animals and planet
read moreStay in the know. Be ready to act.
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