© WWF / Simon Rawles
People & Conservation
Home to more than 260 million Indigenous Peoples, or about 70% of the total global Indigenous population, the Asia-Pacific region is rich with a diversity of ecological and cultural wisdom which can provide modern science with insight to our natural world, as well as to how we can live with and protect it.

But as natural ecosystems across the region are threatened from unsustainable human activity, so are the people closest to it. Under a complex web of systemic inequalities and a historical lack of consideration of human rights issues in conservation, communities are faced with challenges in exercising their rights and participating in decision-making. As lack of governance and weak policies regulating corruption further drive natural degradation, the needs of many local communities remain unheard and neglected.

 

What we are doing
We want to see a world where ecosystems are properly valued for the many benefits they provide for people, economies and nature.

And we know it’s possible. We work with local communities to implement sustainable, rights-based approaches to natural resource management, and support capacity development pathways to ensure inclusive representation in policies and decision-making,  particularly by those who live within the affected landscapes.

PROJECTS

© WWF / Simon Rawles

Leading the Change

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© WWF / Greg Funnell

Mekong for the Future

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© Ranjan Ramchandani / WWF

Mekong in BALANCE

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Learn more about people & conservation in Asia-Pacific

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