Conservation and climate change mitigation: Climate action aligned to critical conservation issues in local contexts – Introduction

Indigenous and rural communities have lived closely alongside nature for centuries. Their food, homes and livelihoods depend on the natural resources available to them in their immediate environment. They have also learned to anticipate and adapt to changing weather and climate conditions. For example, in India, some communities protect biodiverse forest areas that they call sacred groves, and the Andaman tribal communities anticipated a tsunami and moved to higher ground in time to save themselves. It is important to recognise and acknowledge this close relationship and how much community groups understand their environment and natural resources.

Environmental conservation and developmental goals go hand in hand. Communities must be engaged and involved in planning and developing strategies for conserving the local ecology because they understand their natural resources and have a vested interest in the wise use and conservation of those resources to sustain their livelihoods, food systems and lifestyle in general. Furthermore, when communities take ownership of managing and conserving natural resources, the outcomes are long-term and long-lasting.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:

• describe the needs and processes of ecology conservation and small steps that we can take to achieve them and engage communities in conservation activities (linking livelihoods to conservation such as eco-tourism/ community ranger approaches) by exploring the following topics:
  • Community-focused strategy for local ecology conservation
  • Engaging communities in local ecology conservation

Terminology

Community-based conservation:  The involvement of local communities in conservation efforts. It involves empowering local communities to manage and protect natural resources, including endangered species.

Endangered species:  Any organism (living being) at risk of becoming extinct.

Local ecology:  Pattern and balance of relationships between plants, animals, people and the environment in a specific place.

Ecosystem services:  The many and varied benefits humans enjoy thanks to the natural environment and healthy ecosystems. Such ecosystems include, for example, agroecosystems, forest ecosystems, grassland ecosystems and aquatic ecosystems. There are four key types of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulatory, cultural and sustaining.

Provisioning benefits:  Any benefit people obtain from nature.

Regulatory benefits:  Ecological processes that control or prevent natural disasters — for example, pollination, decomposition, water purification, erosion and flood management, carbon storage and climate regulation.

Cultural benefits:  Non-material benefit that contributes to people’s cultural development and advancement — for example, how ecosystems play a role in local, national and global cultures; knowledge building and dissemination; creativity arising from interactions with nature (music, art, architecture); and recreation.

Ecological benefits:  The results of regular underlying natural processes — including photosynthesis, nitrogen cycling, soil formation, and the water cycle — that sustain ecosystems.

Rangelands:  Grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands and deserts that domestic livestock or wild animals graze on.