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News, Updates and Stories
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The Ethical Conservation Alliance (ECA) 2025–2026 Impact Report reflects a growing movement toward ethical, community-centered nature conservation. This report celebrates ECA’s collective progress and the many people and communities driving change.
ECA has expanded the use of its PARTNERS Principles for ethical community engagement, introduced new resources for managing conservation conflict, and helped enhance local and Indigenous participation in international conservation spaces.
Through training, advocacy, and community-centered partnerships, ECA continues to support conservation approaches grounded in equity, collaboration, and care of both ecosystems and the cultural relationships that sustain them.
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Latest News
Stay updated with the latest news.
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A New Resource: A Toolkit on Building Sustainable Economies and Local Entrepreneurship
The ECA is proud to launch a new Sustainable Economies and Local Entrepreneurship Toolkit, which offers a practical framework for developing community-based enterprises (CBEs) that align economic opportunity for local communities with ecological sustainability. Drawing on economics, conservation practice, and community development, it highlights CBEs as pathways for strengthening local agency, resilience, well-being, and long-term conservation. Designed for practitioners, community partners, and policymakers, the toolkit supports the assessment, design, and implementation of enterprises that areeconomically viable, socially equitable, and ecologically sound.
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Photo credit to Temuujin Erdene-Ochir
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Mongolian Government incorporates PARTNERS Principles into the National Ranger Training Program
ULAAN BAATAR, MONGOLIA: On November 25, 2023, Mongolia’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, then known as the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, hosted the ‘2nd National Rangers Forum,’ collaborating with more than 500 rangers to shape policy decisions and development planning. Following recommendations from the forum, 2024 was designated the ‘Year of Training for Ranger Empowerment,’ which resulted in the official approval of the ‘Professional Ranger Training Program.’
The training program includes self-defense, legal and environmental knowledge, communication, and local community engagement for conservation. Notably, ethical community engagement based on the PARTNERS Principles has been incorporated into the training, building the capacity of over 1,000 rangers in Mongolia. This is a significant step in the growing movement toward community-centered nature conservation.
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IPLC representation at the Society for Conservation Biology in Nepal
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KATHMANDU, NEPAL: The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) Asia Region hosted its 6th Conservation Asia Congress in the historic city of Kathmandu in the first week of June, 2026. Under the theme “Harmonising Biodiversity and Human Well-being in Asia,” the Congress united conservation scientists, early-career researchers, and IPLC members to address the critical intersection of nature conservation, community stewardship, and evidence-based policy.
There were 38 IPLC representatives from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, and Tajikistan participating in the Congress. ECA is honored to have provided partial financial support to enhance IPLC representation at this Congress. ECA members also conducted a PARTNERS Principles orientation workshop at the event.
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Updates on ECA’s Training Workshops
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ECA continues to champion ethical nature conservation and community engagement through training workshops for conservationists worldwide. To date, the Alliance has reached 812 conservationists from 67 countries through 40 introductory orientations or full training workshops, with women accounting for 45% of participants. Our recent workshops include:
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Photo credit: Jennifer Snell Rullman
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An orientation workshop on PARTNERS Principles for ethical community engagement in Germany
On May 20-21, 2026, ECA members Jennifer Snell Rullman and Dr. Koustubh Sharma conducted an orientation workshop on PARTNERS Principles at the EAZA conference in Kronberg, Germany, for 20 practitioners from 8 countries.
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Photo credit to Deepshikha Sharma
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PARTNERS workshop for the Responsible Tourism team in India
On May 12 -13 2026, a PARTNERS workshop was conducted in India by ECA member Ms. Deepshikha Sharma for 14 fellows of the Responsible Tourism initiative. These participants aim to start their own responsible tourism enterprises in the future.
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Photo credit to Chloe Lucas
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An orientation PARTNERS workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal
ECA members Dr. Tulshi Suwal and Dr. Chloe Lucas conducted a half-day PARTNERS Orientation workshop for 15 conservation practitioners from 8 countries on 1 June 2026 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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Photo credit to Sanjan Thapa
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PARTNERS community engagement workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal
Dr. Chloe Lucas (SLT) conducted a day-long PARTNERS community engagement workshop in collaboration with the Small Mammal Research and Conservation Fund (SMRCF) for its team and collaborators on 9 June 2026 in Kathmandu, Nepal. A total of 12 participants attended.
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ECA is honored to launch a new round of small grants supporting conservation practitioners advancing ethical, community-centered conservation across the world. This year’s grantees included Deepshikha Sharma in India, who is convening practitioners and Indigenous community members to explore rights-based conservation and application of the PARTNERS Principles; Dr. Ekwoge Abwe in Cameroon, who is supporting Indigenous and grassroots participation in the African Primatological Society Congress and post-congress ethical primatology training; Dr. Micaela Camino in Argentina, who is organizing a national gathering focused on inclusive conservation and moving beyond fortress conservation approaches; Natiora Defenders in Madagascar, who are adapting and testing the PARTNERS Principles toolkit with local communities; and the Society for Conservation Biology for enhancing local participation at the Conservation Asia Congress in Nepal.
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Congratulations to our ECA members!
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Bayarmaa Chuluunbat, Mongolia, named Explorers Club 50 Honoree – Class of 2026 and WINGS Women of Discovery Explorer
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Photo credit to Nyambayar Batbayar
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We are proud to share that ECA member Bayarmaa Chuluunbat has been selected as one of the Explorers Club 50 (EC50) honorees for 2026, a prestigious global recognition of fifty people changing the world. Bayarmaa is a wildlife ecologist with the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia, recognized for her multi-species conservation work across Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, including research on snow leopards, Mongolian saiga antelopes, and cinereous vultures. What earned her this recognition is a deep commitment to community-centered conservation: integrating Indigenous and herder knowledge with scientific research and partnering with local communities to turn ecological data into on-the-ground protection.
Bayarmaa Chuluunbat has also been selected as a WINGS Women of Discovery Explorer, a recognition that celebrates women making outstanding contributions to exploration and conservation science.
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Dr. Purnima Devi Barman, India, named National Geographic Society Wayfinder Awardee
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Photo credit to The Assam Tribune
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We are proud to share that ECA member Dr. Purnima Devi Barman has been selected as one of the global recipients of the prestigious 2026 Wayfinder Award, presented by the National Geographic Society and Kia America. Dr. Barman is a renowned wildlife biologist and conservationist based in Assam, India, recognized for her pioneering community-led efforts to protect the endangered greater adjutant stork, locally known as the hargila. She earned this recognition through grassroots conservation work that transformed public perception by integrating the bird into local culture and community identity, and by mobilizing more than 20,000 village women as conservation champions under her all-women collective, the Hargila Army. The bird, once treated as a bad omen, is now treated as a proud part of the culture because of Purnima’s work.
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Farwiza Farhan, Indonesia, named Whitley Gold Awardee
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Photo credit to Ulet Ifanasti / HAkA
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We are proud to share that ECA member Farwiza Farhan and her co-founded NGO, the HAkA Foundation, have been selected as the recipients of the prestigious 2026 Whitley Gold Award, a major international recognition presented by the Whitley Fund for Nature to accelerate community protection of the globally significant Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra. Farwiza has spent years working to protect this 2.7 million-hectare UNESCO World Heritage site, the last place on Earth where elephants, tigers, rhinos, and orangutans coexist. Her commitment to community-centered conservation earned her this recognition.
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Hem Sagar Baral, Nepal, honored by the Nepali government
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Photo credit: Roar Solheim
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ECA member Dr. Hem Sagar Baral was felicitated by Nepal’s Environment Minister Ms. Geeta Chaudhary earlier in May for his outstanding contributions to conservation. Best known for his lifetime of work in ornithology and bird conservation, he has dedicated his career to engaging local communities in protecting biodiversity and currently serves as the Global Director of Conservation at the Snow Leopard Trust.
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Charudutt Mishra, India, named a National Geographic Society 33 honoree
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Photo credit: National Geographic Society
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ECA member and Secretary General Dr. Charu Mishra has been named one of the 2026 National Geographic 33 Global Icons, a group of visionaries rising to meet the most critical challenges of our time through bold thinking, imaginative solutions, and urgent action. Dr. Mishra, a pioneering wildlife conservationist and the Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Trust, was recognized for his transformative, decades-long work safeguarding snow leopards and their fragile mountain ecosystems across Asia, as well as his deep commitment to community-centered conservation.
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New additions to the ECA Secretariat
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Dr. Suri Venkatachalam, a longtime ECA member, has assumed the role of Senior Advisor to ECA’s Secretariat. With nearly three decades of experience in research, enterprise, and social impact, he has been helping guide the Secretariat and support our Steering Committee.
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Aliyah Jamaluddin has joined the ECA Secretariat as our new program coordinator. Following a Master’s in Public Health, she worked with the Snow Leopard Trust as a Grant Writer and, most recently, as a Philanthropy Specialist.
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Patience, Trust, and the Long Road to Partnership
By Dr. Tserennadmid (Nadia) Mijiddorj
More than twenty years ago, when I first began working with herding communities in Mongolia’s snow leopard landscapes at the Snow Leopard Conservation Fund (SLCF), I arrived with enthusiasm, ideas, and conservation goals. We wanted to reduce threats to snow leopards, improve habitat protection, and strengthen community participation in conservation. Looking back, I realize that meaningful conservation partnerships are not built through short-term interventions but through years of patience, presence, and mutual respect.
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Member Spotlight
Sonam Tashi Lama,
Nepal,
ECA Steering Committee Member
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Growing up in a village in eastern Nepal, I developed a deep connection to nature and the communities that depend on it. When I was a child, life was very simple and centered on nature rather than screens. Today, I serve as Conservation Program Manager for Red Panda Network, where I support local communities in leading community-based efforts to protect endangered red pandas across their range in Nepal and restore their degraded habitats for future generations.
What inspires me the most is witnessing local people become conservation leaders. Over the years, I have worked with communities to restore red panda habitat, train citizen scientists, known as Forest Guardians, to tackle poaching and illegal trade of wildlife, and create sustainable livelihood opportunities that benefit both people and wildlife. I believe conservation is strongest when local communities are at its heart.
One of the highlights of my career was receiving the 2022 Whitley Award for our work to restore critical red panda habitats and connect red panda conservation with community well-being. But the achievement I am most proud of is helping build a movement of local stewards who are protecting forests for future generations.
The red panda is a small creature, but the conservation work we do in the landscape to conserve the species benefits an entire mountain ecosystem and the people who call it home. As I often remind myself, conservation is a long journey where success may not always be measurable, but it comes from working together, one community and one landscape at a time. The Ethical Conservation Alliance’s community-centered approach is the most important aspect that attracted me to it.
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July, 2026, Bhutan: 2-day training workshop on ethical community engagement for nature conservation.
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July, 2026, India: PARTNERS Training Workshop with Special Interest Groups.
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July 2026, Madagascar: PARTNERS Training on community engagement by Natiora Defenders.
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September 2026, Cameroon: 4th Congress of the African Primatological Society (APS).
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October 2026, Mozambique: Week-long training-of-trainers workshop on ethical nature conservation and community engagement.
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Do you work with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and are facing issues you would like to discuss, or get assistance on?
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Photo credit: Farwiza Farhan
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We request you to please forward this newsletter to at least ONE more person who might find it useful
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Photo credit: Sonam Tashi Lama
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If you’d like to make a donation to the Ethical Conservation Alliance, please write to us here
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Ethical Conservation Alliance is financially supported by:
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