Tools and Techniques for Facilitating Community Engagement and Participatory Conservation

Leandra Merz, Audrey Smith, Claudia Garnica Diaz

There is growing recognition of the importance of developing more inclusive conservation efforts both for environmental justice and for successful conservation initiatives. Conservation organizations and funders increasingly expect projects to incorporate diverse actors, including local communities. However, efforts that appear to be inclusive without really allowing for meaningful engagement and participation can do more harm than good. Instead, conservationists must learn to facilitate conservation research and practice that engages diverse actors and allows for meaningful participation, especially of local communities.

This session will introduce some practical tools and techniques for facilitating participatory conservation that engages diverse actors. Collaboration with diverse groups of people is vital for effective conservation, especially efforts that include local communities and value local knowledge and contributions. Yet, few conservation researchers and practitioners are formally taught how to facilitate community engagement and participatory conservation in a culturally sensitive manner. We recognize that it can be a challenging practice, and often, well-intentioned efforts can cause more harm than good. Therefore, we have designed this workshop to introduce several key tools and techniques for facilitating community engagement and participatory conservation.

We will introduce concepts like empathetic listening, cross-cultural communication, planning for engagement, and participatory research/practice. We will use case studies and interactive activities to learn and practice these new skills together. The goal is for everyone to get active experience applying some of the tools and techniques within the workshop. We will also provide a toolkit with resources and information to support future endeavors to facilitate participatory conservation.