Conservation International

Last updated
Conservation International
AbbreviationCI
Formation1987
FounderSpencer Beebe; Peter Seligmann
Type International NGO
52-1497470 [1]
Legal status 501(c)(3) nonprofit (United States)
FocusBiodiversity conservation and human well-being
Headquarters Crystal City, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S. [2]
Region served
Worldwide
FieldsClimate change, marine conservation, sustainable development, conservation science, conservation finance
Interim CEO
Daniela Raik [3]
Chair of the board
Wes Bush [3]
Key people
Harrison Ford (board member) [4]
RevenueUS$271 million (2024) [1]
ExpensesUS$298 million (2024) [1]
Employees1,600+ (2025) [3]
Website www.conservation.org

Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia. [5] Founded in 1987 by Spencer Beebe and Peter Seligmann, it works internationally on biodiversity conservation and the links between ecosystems and human well-being, with programs that include climate and marine initiatives and work with governments, communities and other partners. [6] [7]

Contents

In 1987, CI helped negotiate a debt-for-nature swap with Bolivia -- the first of its kind. [8] [9] It adopted biodiversity hotspots as a framework for setting conservation priorities in 1989, [10] and created the Rapid Assessment Program in 1990 to carry out time-limited biodiversity surveys intended to inform conservation decisions. [11] CI has also been involved in conservation-finance and multilateral initiatives, including participation in the 2000 launch of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the creation of the Global Conservation Fund. [12] [13] Its public communications have included the celebrity-narrated campaign Nature Is Speaking (2014). [14]

Conservation International operates primarily through Conservation International Foundation, a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and works through country programs and affiliated entities in multiple regions. [1] [15] In fiscal year 2024, the foundation reported US$271 million in revenue and US$298 million in expenses, and CI reported more than 1,600 employees in 2025. [1] [3] The organization has faced criticism over aspects of project implementation and its engagement with corporate partners. [16] [17]

History

Founding and 1980s

Conservation International was founded in 1987 by Peter Seligmann and Spencer Beebe. [6] [18] In July 1987, the organization and the Government of Bolivia signed a Debt-for-nature swap agreement that has been described as the first of its kind. [8] [9] Conservation International acquired US$650,000 of Bolivian external debt for US$100,000. Bolivia provided the Beni Biological Station Biosphere Reserve with maximum legal protection, created three adjacent protected areas, and agreed to provide US$250,000 in local currency for management activities in the reserve. [8]

In 1989, Conservation International adopted biodiversity hotspots. [10]

1990s

In the early 1990s, Conservation International halted direct-mail fundraising and expanded its programs using support from board members and foundation grants, including from the MacArthur Foundation. [6] In 1990, it entered its first corporate partnership, with McDonald's Corporation. [19]

In 1990, Conservation International created the Rapid Assessment Program, a rapid biodiversity survey initiative intended to support conservation decision-making by generating biological information from field assessments. [11] In the mid-1990s, the organization expanded its fundraising strategies, with increased emphasis on foundations and wealthy individual donors. [6] In 1998, Conservation International scientists published an approach to setting conservation priorities that combined biodiversity hotspots and major tropical wilderness areas. [20]

2000s

In 2000, Conservation International participated in the launch of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a partnership between the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility, and Conservation International that supports civil society conservation work in biodiversity hotspots. [12] The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation joined CEPF as a partner in 2001, and the Government of Japan joined in 2002. [12]

In 2001, Conservation International launched the Global Conservation Fund, which focuses on establishing the financial sustainability of specific protected areas. [13] In 2004, Starbucks launched Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices, a verification program developed by Starbucks, Conservation International, and SCS Global Services. [21]

In 2008, Conservation International updated its mission to focus on the connections between human well-being and natural ecosystems, and expanded its work with a stronger focus on marine conservation, scientific research, conservation finance, and partnerships with governments, corporations, and Indigenous and local communities. [22]

2010s

In 2014, Conservation International launched the public-awareness campaign Nature Is Speaking at SXSW Eco in Austin, Texas. [14]

In 2017, M. Sanjayan was named chief executive officer, succeeding Peter Seligmann, who remained chair of the board. [23] [24]

2020s

In August 2025, Sanjayan stepped down as CEO, and Daniela Raik was appointed interim chief executive officer while the board conducted a search for a permanent CEO. [3] Conservation International epidemiologist Dr. Neil Vora was named to the 2025 Time 100 Next list. [25] In fiscal year 2024, CI reported expenditures of more than US$297 million. [26] [27]

Approach and priorities

Conservation International combines science-based priority setting with partnerships and financing mechanisms to support conservation at scale. [6]

Conservation priority-setting

Conservationists use biodiversity hotspots as a screening tool for prioritizing conservation investment in regions that combine high concentrations of endemic species with extensive habitat loss. [28] CI adopted the hotspots framework and has used it alongside other priority geographies such as major tropical wilderness areas and marine regions in its conservation work. [6] Researchers have debated hotspot-based prioritization, with critiques that concentrating resources on hotspots can overlook areas outside hotspot boundaries that still have high conservation value. [28] [29]

Human well-being emphasis and communications

In the 2010s, CI's public communications increasingly focused on human dependence on nature for well-being, often summarized in the organization's messaging as "people need nature to thrive". [14] [30] [24] In interviews, chief executive Peter Seligmann described a shift from framing conservation as protecting nature "for its own sake" to framing it around the benefits nature provides people, alongside increased investment in public communications and new media formats such as virtual reality storytelling. [24] CI's Nature Is Speaking campaign, launched in 2014 and introduced at SXSW Eco, used short films narrated by celebrity voices to argue that nature will continue but that humans depend on functioning ecosystems. [31] [32] [14] The campaign personified elements of nature through celebrity narration, presenting nature as a speaking subject in its conservation messaging. [33]

Science and research

Conservation International describes the Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science and Solutions as its research hub. The center’s team of over 40 scientists works with CI field staff, traditional knowledge holders, communities and partners to generate knowledge intended to support conservation action and decision-making. [34]

CI’s published conservation-science work includes approaches to conservation priority-setting, including frameworks combining biodiversity hotspots and major tropical wilderness areas to guide investment decisions. [20] [10]

CI has also carried out rapid biodiversity survey work through its Rapid Assessment Program, created in 1990 to generate biological information from field assessments intended to support conservation decision-making. [11]

Global programs and initiatives

Conservation International has launched and supported a number of cross-border initiatives and campaigns that are managed centrally or implemented across multiple countries, alongside its country programs.

Conservation finance

Conservation International has been associated with the use of conservation finance--financial mechanisms intended to mobilize and direct capital toward conservation, often by pairing conservation outcomes with durable funding streams and, in some cases, financial returns. [35]

CI's early history is linked to debt-for-nature swaps: in 1987 it helped negotiate a debt conversion with Bolivia that has been described as the first swap of its kind, directing local-currency resources toward protected-area creation and management funding. [8] [9]

In later decades, CI helped launch or participate in conservation-finance platforms designed to support biodiversity priorities at scale, including the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the Global Conservation Fund, which supports the long-term financial sustainability of specific protected areas. [12] [13] CI-linked programmes have also used performance-based approaches such as voluntary-market REDD+ finance linked to conservation agreements, and have participated in project-finance-for-permanence initiatives designed to secure long-term funding for protected-area systems. [36] [13] [37] [38]

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a multi-donor grantmaking initiative that supports civil-society conservation projects in biodiversity hotspots. Conservation International participated in CEPF’s launch in 2000 as a partnership with the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility. [12] The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation joined CEPF as a partner in 2001, and the Government of Japan joined in 2002. [12]

Global Conservation Fund

In 2001, Conservation International launched the Global Conservation Fund, which focuses on establishing the financial sustainability of specific protected areas. [13]

Rapid Assessment Program

In 1990, Conservation International created the Rapid Assessment Program, a rapid biodiversity survey initiative intended to support conservation decision-making by generating biological information from field assessments. [11]

Pacific ocean initiatives

Conservation International has supported marine-conservation initiatives in the Pacific that operate at the scale of exclusive economic zones and regional fisheries, including large marine protected areas, marine spatial planning and place-based fisheries initiatives. In Kiribati, the Phoenix Islands Protected Area was created in 2008 through a partnership between the Government of Kiribati, Conservation International and the New England Aquarium. [39] In Hawaiʻi, Conservation International’s programme has worked with partners including NOAA Fisheries on sustainable seafood and fisheries initiatives, including efforts to increase utilisation of invasive reef fish such as ta‘ape (bluestripe snapper). [40]

In Palau, Conservation International has worked with Palauan partners to support management and sustainability planning for the Palau National Marine Sanctuary and the country's domestic fishing zone, including marine-spatial-planning and fisheries-capacity initiatives aimed at developing a sustainable, Palauan-owned domestic fishery. [41] [42]

Mountains to Mangroves

Mountains to Mangroves is a regional ecosystem protection and restoration initiative in the Eastern Himalayas (including Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal) that is catalyzed by Conservation International and aims to support large-scale restoration and tree planting across the landscape. [43] In Bhutan, the initiative has included a partnership intended to restore 50,000 hectares of degraded land over the next decade. [43] In 2025, the United Kingdom partnered with Conservation International on the Mountains to Mangroves Atlas, a digital map intended to help guide nature-based solutions across the Eastern Himalayas. [44]

Governance and organizational structure

Conservation International operates primarily through Conservation International Foundation, a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. [1] [15] It is governed by a board of directors and led by a chief executive officer. [4] [3] As of August 2025, Daniela Raik served as interim chief executive officer and Wes Bush was chair of the board; actor Harrison Ford was among the board members. [3] [4] CharityWatch reported that the foundation met its governance benchmarks, including an independent audit, a publicly available conflict-of-interest policy, and an independent board majority. [15]

The organization works through country programs and affiliated entities in multiple regions. CharityWatch's rating for the foundation includes 14 affiliated organizations and reported that these entities are separately incorporated but consolidated in the organization's audited financial statements. [15] Some affiliates operate as independent national organizations, such as Conservation South Africa. [45]

CI also operates through supporting affiliates in some countries that focus on fundraising, partnerships and regional coordination, in addition to field-based country programs. For example, Conservation International-Europe has operated from Brussels, Belgium, with staff roles including European public partnerships and liaison functions. [46]

Funding and financials

According to ProPublica's compilation of Internal Revenue Service Form 990 filings, Conservation International Foundation reported about US$271 million in revenue and about US$298 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 2024, compared with about US$204 million in revenue and about US$246 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 2023. [1] In those filings, contributions and grants accounted for most reported revenue (91% in FY2024; 85% in FY2023), with smaller shares from investment income and other revenue. [1]

CharityWatch's analysis of consolidated statements for fiscal year 2023 estimated that government sources accounted for 0%-24% of the foundation's cash revenue. [15] CI has raised support through foundation grants and corporate partnerships and has managed project-based conservation finance and climate and biodiversity funding, including programs connected to the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund. [6] [19] [47] [48] Some projects have used mechanisms such as trust funds and carbon finance linked to conservation agreements and other interventions. [13] [36]

Country programs and affiliates

Conservation International carries out much of its work through country programs and affiliated entities. [15] The summaries below highlight country programs and affiliates; cross-border initiatives are described in Global programs and initiatives.

Americas

Bolivia

Conservation International has worked in Bolivia since 1987, focusing on Amazon conservation through protected-area support and conservation-finance initiatives. [49] In 1987 it helped implement a debt-for-nature swap described by the World Bank as the first of its kind, purchasing US$650,000 of Bolivian debt for US$100,000 and supporting protection and management funding for the Beni Biological Station Biosphere Reserve and three additional reserves. [49] 2024 saw the creation of the Área Natural de Manejo Integrado El Gran Manupare in Sena (Pando Department), a protected area covering 452,639 hectares, with the process involving CI Bolivia’s technical team alongside local and municipal actors. [50]

Brazil

In Brazil, Conservation International began working in 1990 through Conservation International do Brasil. [51] In the Brazilian Amazon, it is an executing partner for the World Bank-led, Global Environment Facility-financed Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Project. [52] [53] Conservation International also served as the executing agency for the UNDP-GEF project Taking Deforestation Out of the Soy Supply Chain, which focused on reducing deforestation linked to soy expansion in the MATOPIBA agricultural frontier. [54]

Colombia

Conservation International has worked in Colombia since 1991, carrying out programs that integrate conservation of natural resources with socio-economic development in partnership with government, academic, and civil-society actors. [55] In 2004 it was among the NGOs that signed a Tropical Forest Conservation Act debt-for-nature agreement that reduced Colombia’s debt to the United States by more than US$10 million in exchange for funding tropical-forest conservation projects. [56] In 2022, Conservation International joined partners launching Herencia Colombia, a project-finance-for-permanence initiative described as securing about US$245 million in public and private finance to support long-term management and expansion of Colombia’s protected-areas system. [37] [38]

Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, Conservation International has worked for more than 35 years and its country programme focuses on ocean and coastal conservation and marine spatial planning. [57] Conservation International Costa Rica participates in the Transforma-Innova/TRANSFORMA initiative led by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and partner organisations to support low-carbon and climate-resilient practices in agriculture, livestock, and marine-coastal systems. [58] [59] [60] The programme also implements a pilot project under the Blue Carbon Facility of Agence française de développement (AFD) to support Costa Rica's National Blue Carbon Strategy and Action Plan, with fieldwork in mangroves in the Gulf of Nicoya. [61]

Ecuador

Conservation International established its Ecuador country programme in 2001, focusing on biodiversity conservation and protected-area management in the Galápagos Islands and mainland Ecuador, including marine and coastal conservation and climate resilience. [62] It has served as the Global Environment Facility agency for the Galápagos biosecurity and ecosystem restoration project Safeguarding biodiversity in the Galapagos Islands by enhancing biosecurity and creating the enabling environment for the restoration of Galapagos Island ecosystems. [63] Conservation International Foundation is the accredited entity for the Green Climate Fund project Mangroves for climate: Public, Private and Community Partnerships for Mitigation and Adaptation in Ecuador, approved in July 2024. [64]

Guyana

Conservation International has worked in Guyana since 1989, focusing on protected-area planning and community-based conservation in forest and coastal ecosystems. [65] In the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region, it has supported the Wai Wai community of Konashen (Kanashen), which was later gazetted as the Kanashen Amerindian Protected Area (about 648,567 hectares) within Guyana’s National Protected Areas System. [66] CI-Guyana has also been involved in supporting Guyana’s REDD+ forest monitoring through the national Monitoring, Reporting & Verification System (MRVS). [67]

Mexico

In Mexico, Conservation International has worked since 1990, with a programme that includes coastal and marine conservation and landscape restoration with local and public partners. [68] It partnered in the USAID-supported programme Conserving Critical Coastal Ecosystems in Mexico (1996-2003), which supported site-based coastal-management initiatives in Quintana Roo and on Mexico's Pacific coast and documented capacity-building and technical exchange with Mexican NGOs, universities and government agencies. [69] In the 2020s, Conservation International has been involved in conservation-finance initiatives linked to Mexico's biodiversity targets, including the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund project Mex30x30: Conserving Mexican biodiversity through the collective social participation approach. [70]

Peru

Conservation International has worked in Peru since 1989, focusing on Amazon forest conservation and protected-area management alongside community livelihoods and conservation finance. [36] In the Alto Mayo Protection Forest, it has used conservation agreements linked to voluntary-market REDD+ finance to support forest protection while providing participating households with technical assistance intended to improve livelihoods. [36] In 2023, Peru and the United States finalised a Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act (TFCCA) debt-for-nature swap with Conservation International and other NGOs, redirecting more than US$20 million in debt-service payments to a grantmaking fund for forest conservation and sustainable livelihoods in the Peruvian Amazon. [71]

Suriname

In Suriname, Conservation International helped establish the Central Suriname Nature Reserve, a 1,600,000-hectare protected area created in 1998 and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. [72] [73] It supported the establishment of the Suriname Conservation Foundation, a conservation trust fund created in 1999 to help finance protected-area management. [72] Along the coast near Paramaribo, CI-Suriname and partners have worked on nature-based coastal protection at Weg naar Zee using sediment-trapping structures designed to promote mangrove regrowth and reduce erosion. [74] [75]

Africa

Botswana

Conservation International has worked in Botswana since 1993, with programmes focused on biodiversity conservation and community-linked natural-resource management, including work associated with the Okavango Delta. [76] In the late 2000s, it participated in coordination and information-sharing forums associated with the Northern Botswana Human Wildlife Coexistence Project and worked with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks on the Western Kgalagadi Conservation Corridor. [77] In the 2020s, Conservation International became the accredited entity for the Green Climate Fund project Ecosystem-Based Adaptation and Mitigation in Botswana's Communal Rangelands. [48]

Kenya

Conservation International established its Kenya programme in 2014. [78] The programme works on forest and rangeland conservation and restoration and supports climate-mitigation initiatives including REDD+. [78] In the Chyulu Hills landscape, it has supported community-based rangeland restoration for climate resilience and pastoral livelihoods. [79] Conservation International is the lead agency for the Global Environment Facility project Advancing human-wildlife conflict management effectiveness in Kenya through an integrated approach. [80]

Liberia

Conservation International began working in Liberia in 2001, focusing on protected-area and landscape initiatives in the country's southeast, including work linked to Sapo National Park and the Grebo forest landscape within a wider conservation complex connected to Taï National Park in neighbouring Ivory Coast. [81] [82] In May 2018, Conservation International and the Government of Liberia launched the Liberia Conservation Fund, an independent conservation fund intended to provide long-term financing for Liberia's protected areas. [83] [82] Conservation International is the implementing agency for Liberia's Global Environment Facility Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) project, which aims to reduce deforestation and restore degraded lands in a 2.5-million-hectare northwest landscape while strengthening deforestation-free cocoa and palm oil value chains. [84] [85]

Madagascar

In Madagascar, Conservation International has worked since 1990. [86] The programme has focused on protected-area and forest-corridor management in eastern and south-eastern Madagascar, including the Ambositra–Vondrozo Forest Corridor (COFAV) and the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor (CAZ). [87] CAZ links Zahamena National Park and Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and covers about 425,000 hectares (4,250 km2); a carbon-finance component was designed to generate verified emission reductions to help fund management costs and expand local livelihood opportunities. [88] In 2016, the Green Climate Fund approved Sustainable Landscapes in Eastern Madagascar, with Conservation International Foundation as the accredited entity. [89]

South Africa

Conservation South Africa (CSA) is an independent affiliate of Conservation International established in 2010 and registered in South Africa as a Section 18A public benefit organisation. [90] [45] CSA supports rural economic development linked to biodiversity conservation, including sustainable veld management and grazing practices, and works with partners in landscapes such as Namakwa, the Eastern Grasslands and the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region. [90] [45] Under the Mega Living Landscapes programme, CSA participates in collaborative platforms and implements landscape-planning, community, and durable-finance components, including work in the Namakwa and Eastern Grasslands landscapes and sustainable grazing initiatives in the Eastern Cape. [45] [91]

Asia–Pacific

Australia

In Australia, Conservation International operates through the Conservation International Australia Environmental Trust, a registered charity (since 2021) endorsed as a Deductible gift recipient from 1 January 2024. [92] Through Mastercard’s Priceless Planet Coalition, Conservation International has supported Greening Australia’s forest-restoration plantings in New South Wales and Victoria, with 430,000 biodiverse native trees rolling out across the 2021–2022 planting seasons. [93]

Cambodia

In Cambodia, Conservation International has worked since 2001 on forest conservation and protected-area management, including implementation of the Central Cardamom Protected Forest project with Cambodia’s Forestry Administration from July 2001 to September 2004. [94] In the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary landscape, a REDD+ project registered under Japan's Joint Crediting Mechanism became operational in 2018 and is jointly implemented with Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment and Mitsui. [95]

China

Conservation International began working in China in 2002, with early programme activity focused on mountain landscapes in southwest China (including parts of Yunnan and Sichuan). [96] [97] In the mid-2000s, the programme implemented activities linked to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and supported biodiversity surveys, conservation monitoring, and training for local and government staff, alongside community-based conservation and restoration work. [97] In Yunnan, it contributed to a payments-for-ecosystem-services pilot at and around the Lashihai Nature Reserve near Lijiang, testing compensation and incentive mechanisms linked to watershed services and conservation objectives. [98]

Fiji

Conservation International began working in Fiji in 2003, supporting biodiversity conservation and protected-area initiatives. [99] A flagship effort has been support for the establishment of the Sovi Basin Conservation Area on Viti Levu, including development of a management plan and conservation-lease arrangements with landowners and partner institutions. [100] In 2005, landowners agreed to cancel a proposed logging concession in the Sovi Basin, and a conservation trust fund was developed to support long-term management and provide alternative income for landowners. [101]

Indonesia

In Indonesia, Conservation International has worked since 2004, when it led a coalition that launched the Bird's Head Seascape Initiative in the Bird's Head Peninsula region of West Papua. [102] In the Raja Ampat marine protected area network, conservation work has included a tourism entrance fee system and a community-based patrol system, alongside long-term financing planning through the Blue Abadi Fund administered by the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (Yayasan Keanekaragaman Hayati Indonesia; KEHATI). [103] In 2024, a U.S.–Indonesia debt-for-nature swap targeted funding for conservation work in the Bird's Head Seascape and the Lesser Sunda–Banda seascape, including a contribution from Conservation International. [104]

New Caledonia

In New Caledonia, Conservation International established a local office in 2002, building on partnerships with the North Province that began in the 1990s. [105] [106] Work has included a co-management conservation project around the Mont Panié reserve area initiated in 2003 with local partners (including the Dayu Biik association), alongside early invasive-mammal control trials begun in 2004. [107]

New Zealand (Aotearoa)

In New Zealand (Aotearoa), Conservation International works through Conservation International Aotearoa, which supports iwi and Māori-led ocean initiatives and Pacific partnerships, including the Hinemoana Halo initiative. [108] Work in Aotearoa New Zealand has included policy research on coastal wetland blue carbon, including analysis related to blue-carbon crediting and market development. [109] New Zealand’s Department of Conservation has partnered with Manta Watch NZ and Conservation International Aotearoa on research related to oceanic manta rays in New Zealand waters. [110]

Philippines

Conservation International began working in the Philippines in 1995. [111] Its programme combines terrestrial conservation in Palawan (including work associated with the Mount Mantalingahan protected landscape) with marine conservation and fisheries-management initiatives in priority seascapes such as the Verde Island Passage. [112] [113] From 2008 to 2011, it supported local-government alliances coordinating a network of 69 marine protected areas protecting about 17,000 hectares (170 km2) in the Verde Island Passage, and it was a local partner for the United Nations Development Programme project Strengthening the Marine Protected Area System to Conserve Marine Key Biodiversity Areas (Smart Seas Philippines) (2014–2020). [113] [114]

Samoa

Conservation International has worked in Samoa since 2006, focusing on ocean planning and marine conservation. [115] In June 2025, Samoa legally adopted the Samoa Marine Spatial Plan, establishing nine fully protected marine protected areas covering 36,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi) and setting a target to fully protect 30% of Samoa’s ocean area while sustainably managing the remainder. [116] [117]

Timor-Leste

In Timor-Leste, Conservation International has been involved in protected-area and marine-conservation planning since at least 2009, when it was listed in a government planning report on the Nino Konis Santana National Park area. [118] In 2018, it was listed as the implementing agency for a Global Environment Facility-financed project intended to establish a national protected-area network and improve natural resource management in priority catchment corridors. [47] [119] Conservation International–led reef surveys around Atauro Island have also been used in proposals to create a marine protected area for the island’s waters. [120]

Reception and criticism

Conservation International has faced criticism in media and from advocacy organizations regarding aspects of its project implementation and its engagement with corporate partners.

Papua New Guinea project spending allegations

In 2008, Conservation International faced criticism over its role in the Milne Bay Community Based Coastal and Marine Conservation Project in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. [16] In a report for The Nation, journalist Mark Dowie wrote that within four years the project's US$6,443,022 budget had been spent largely on staff costs, vehicles and boats, travel, and overhead rather than on conservation activities, and that a UNDP project evaluation reported that between US$800,000 and US$1.2 million was unaccounted for. [16] Conservation International disputed the UNDP figure, said it had contributed US$2.3 million to the project, and denied financial impropriety while inviting a forensic audit. [16] A later UNDP project document described the Milne Bay project as having been wound up early amid "fiscal and political controversy". [121]

Undercover investigation and corporate partnerships

In May 2011, the magazine Don't Panic published an undercover video of a meeting in which its reporters, posing as executives from defense contractor Lockheed Martin, discussed potential collaboration with Conservation International on corporate engagement and communications, including participation in a business forum and the use of an "endangered species mascot" in branding. [17] [122] Some environmental advocates argued that the episode illustrated how corporate partnerships could provide reputational benefits to companies. [17] [122] In response, CI vice president Justin Ward told HuffPost that the video was misleading and not representative of CI's interactions with corporate partners, and said the organization did not offer image-management services and required potential partners to undergo a due diligence process. [17] Ward also said corporate partnerships accounted for less than 10% of CI's budget and argued that working with companies could be appropriate when relationships were transparent and funds were directed to conservation programs. [17]

Botswana corridor dispute

In 2013, Survival International and Botswana's Khwedom Council said that Basarwa (San) residents of the Ranyane settlement in Ghanzi District were being pressured to relocate. [123] [124] They linked the dispute to proposals for the Western Kgalagadi Conservation Corridor, a wildlife corridor project that News24 reported had been developed with Conservation International. [124] [123] The Guardian Sun reported that the matter was before the High Court and subject to an interdict halting relocations; government spokesperson Jeff Ramsay denied that residents were being forced to move and said that relocations involved only households that had requested assistance. [123] [124]

Alto Mayo Conservation Initiative in Peru

In December 2021, Sapiens magazine reported similar issues in Peru. At the Alto Mayo Conservation Initiative in Peru, CI had brokered the sale of carbon credits created from preserving forest land to the Disney Company to offset their cruise ships' activities. While approximately half of the local farming families signed on to preserve the forest in exchange for economic development programs funded by CI, some wanted to retain the right to expand their farms and engage in logging in the forest, leading to violence against Park rangers from the Peruvian National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP) and the threat of evictions. Local members of the Rondero autonomous peasants group told reporters that 50 homes in the forest were demolished in 2021, while SERNANP reported that none of the homes were currently inhabited. Conservation International stated that the demolitions were not funded by carbon credit revenues. [125] [126] [127]


Notable people

References

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