As the world races to meet the ambitious goal of conserving 30% of the planet by 2030, community-led conservation is increasingly seen as a promising solution. But why do so many of these initiatives struggle to grow and succeed? A new study published in Conservation Biology offers some answers.
The study, led by Thomas Pienkowski and a team of 60+ researchers and practitioners, including AKU's very own Professor Emmanuel Sulle from AKU's Arusha Climate and Environmental Research Centre (AKU-ACER), examined ten community conservation initiatives across Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. These included forest and wildlife management programmes where local communities are actively involved in protecting nature.
Using insights from 84 experts, the research identified key “scaling bottlenecks" - factors that prevent these initiatives from expanding. Surprisingly, the biggest challenges weren't about money or technical capacity. Instead, they were about decision-making and fairness.
Experts pointed to issues like unequal decision-making, benefit sharing, and rigid, top-down leadership. In many cases, local communities had little say in how conservation programmes were designed or run, leading to frustration and disengagement.
Another major challenge was financial support. While many initiatives rely on external funding, communities often lack the resources to manage conservation areas effectively. Without consistent financial backing, scaling becomes nearly impossible.
Yet, the study also found hope. Most experts agreed that, despite some costs, like reduced access to farmland, community conservation generally improves local livelihoods and environmental outcomes. This suggests that communities are willing to engage in conservation when it's done with justice and inclusivity embedded in the work.
Professor Sulle's involvement in this research reflects AKU's commitment to advancing sustainable development and environmental justice in East Africa. “This is a critical and timely study that employs a transdisciplinary approach to examine the bottlenecks hindering community-led conservation in Eastern and Southern Africa," he said. “I valued the scholarly rigour of this work and the openness to critique, including our bold decision to abandon colonial terms such as 'sub-Saharan Africa,' ensuring that our research reflects justice and inclusivity," said Professor Sulle.
AKU's consistent contributions in such research studies ultimately shape conservation policy and practice in ways that empower. The study recommends shifting from top-down models to locally driven, rights-based strategies. Tools like participatory governance assessments and community-led monitoring can help identify and fix problems early.
As we look toward global conservation goals, this study reminds us that scaling up starts with listening to those on the ground.
