Jessica L. Deichmann et al. look at the tension across knowledge areas and highlight items companies should know when engaging with ecologists and biodiversity experts. This article, based on decades of working with private sector companies on some of the most complex nature-based issues, highlights the interdisciplinary nature of ecosystem restoration and species recovery. It offers nine principles to foster positive collaborations, including an acknowledgment that small actions can make big differences and that people are a critical element of any successful conservation collaboration.
Article
9 Conservation Principles: Fostering Collaboration for Nature Positive Outcomes
By Jessica Deichmann, Tamia Souto, Alfonso Alonso, Farah Carrasco Rueda, Molly Dodge, Francisco Dallmeier, Tremaine Gregory, Ryan Richards, Chelsie Romulo, Hadrien Vanthomme, Matthew Richardson
Posted December 5, 2022 | Sustainability | Amplify
About The Author
Jessica L. Deichmann is a Research Biologist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Her work largely focuses on problem solving via interdisciplinary biodiversity conservation and sustainability research. Dr. Deichmann identifies key environmental and climate challenges created by infrastructure development and industrial operations in high biodiversity ecosystems, primarily in the Americas and Africa. Using a… Read More
Tamia Souto is a conservation practitioner with experience in biodiversity conservation, adaptive management, and participatory natural resource management (NRM). She is Team Lead at Environmental Incentives, supporting the US Agency for International Development’s environment, NRM, resilience, and energy programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr. Souto has nearly 15 years’ experience working in the Amazon region in evidence-based design… Read More
Alfonso Alonso is Managing Director of International Field Programs of the Center for Conservation and Sustainability at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Working as a conservation biologist for 25 years with the Smithsonian, he has focused on integrating conservation needs with development priorities to maintain biodiversity. Dr. Alonso develops biodiversity assessment and monitoring programs to minimize impacts… Read More
Farah Carrasco Rueda is a biologist and collaborates with the Field Museum of Natural History of Chicago, currently as a consultant in different conservation projects and previously as coordinator of the Putumayo Biocultural Corridor. She has carried out research in the Peruvian Amazon, evaluating the impacts of human activities, including gas pipeline construction and agricultural activities, on biodiversity and ecological aspects of mammals.… Read More
Molly Dodge is Program Manager at the Smithsonian’s Working Land and Seascapes Initiative, where she leverages the resources of the Smithsonian to foster collaboration and increase the impact of global conservation efforts. Ms. Dodge has more than a decade of experience in conservation fundraising, communications, and program development. She earned bachelor degrees in both communications and psychology from the University of Miami and a master’… Read More
Francisco Dallmeier is Director of the Center for Conservation and Sustainability at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. He has a wide range of global experience with the energy, infrastructure, mining, conservation, and development sectors. Dr. Dallmeier has worked on functional conservation corridors for working landscapes, sustainable investment and conservation tools, sustainable infrastructure conservation… Read More
Tremaine Gregory has been a research scientist and postdoc for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute for the past 12 years. Her research focuses on the impacts of infrastructure on biodiversity, particularly in the Amazon. Dr. Gregory has extensive experience studying mammals, birds, and other taxonomic groups impacted by industrial infrastructure in Peru, Brazil, and Paraguay, and has pioneered methods for camera… Read More
Ryan C. Richards is a Senior Conservation Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress, covering a variety of topics, including ecosystem restoration, natural climate solutions, forestry, and private lands. Previously, Dr. Richards worked on conservation domestically and internationally. He conducted his doctoral research on reforestation incentive programs in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil and was a Fulbright visiting researcher at the… Read More
Chelsie Romulo is an Associate Professor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies at the University of Northern Colorado. Her research spans several resource management contexts and seeks to understand what works and why to explain what contextual characteristics result in impacts and outcomes. Dr. Romulo uses mixed methods approaches to integrate quantitative and qualitative data that can be applied to various management and policy… Read More
Hadrien Vanthomme is Coordinator of the Sustainable Wildlife Management Program in Gabon at CIRAD, where he’s working to help rural communities obtain formal rights to use natural resources. He is a passionate ecologist with 17 years’ experience in designing and carrying out projects for the conservation of biodiversity and the management of natural resources and landscapes. For more than a decade, Dr. Vanthomme worked with the private sector in… Read More
Matthew L. Richardson is Acting Director of the Center for Urban Research, Engagement and Scholarship in the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences at the University of the District of Columbia. He is also an affiliate research ecologist with Bok Tower Gardens, a former research scientist with the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute, and a Fulbright Scholar. Dr. Richardson’s research interests include… Read More
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