We see the health of the land as an extension of, and contributor to, the health of its surrounding human inhabitants. Vital, functioning landscapes cannot long survive unscathed where human beings are plagued by abject poverty or cultural fragmentation. What’s more, human life cannot survive without healthy, dynamic ecosystems. In order to understand their awesome complexity we must study endangered habitats and species rigorously, and in order to appreciate the larger significance of what we investigate we must consult those who possess local and traditional knowledge. Then, in order to save these special places, we must spread the knowledge gained to schoolchildren and national policymakers alike. (In fact, we like to think that educated schoolchildren make the best future national policymakers).

This is what Nature and Culture International does. We bring together conservation scientists, local officials and citizens as well as native peoples, all of whom are committed to the vision of thriving, sustainable human communities surrounded by richly diverse, vibrant landscapes. In our view, no policy or action can long succeed without the acceptance and support of those who make their homes in the endangered places that harbor so many vanishing species.