Biocultural Conservation
Indigenous communities are leading innovative approaches to territorial governance and conservation rooted in ancestral knowledge and collective action.
Our work supports these efforts by strengthening leadership, institutions, participatory monitoring, and communication, with the goal of helping communities advance their own priorities for land stewardship and cultural continuity.
Ancestral Lands Project
Indigenous communities are leading powerful movements to defend ancestral territories and protect them from extractive and infrastructure-driven development. Our role is to support community-led advocacy, governance, and conservation initiatives that advance territorial sovereignty and ecological integrity.
Working alongside the Maijuna people, Nature and Culture International, The Field Museum, and the Regional Government of Loreto, we supported the establishment of the 391,000-hectare Área de Conservación Regional Maijuna Kichwa. We also collaborated on the documentary Guardians of the Forest, which amplifies Indigenous leadership in protecting ancestral lands and biodiversity.
Photo: Mark Bowler
Biocultural Resource Management Project
Indigenous communities continue to steward culturally and ecologically vital resources through knowledge systems rooted in deep relationships with land and wildlife. Our role is to support community-defined management strategies that bring together ancestral knowledge, local priorities, and collaborative research.
Working alongside the Maijuna people and researchers at the University of Suffolk, George Mason University, Georgetown University, and the Institute for Conservation Research at the San Diego Zoo, we are co-developing management plans for culturally and ecologically significant wildlife species that strengthen both conservation outcomes and cultural continuity.