Our Process

Donors have been rewarded by the efficiency of our bottom-up approach

At Nature and Culture International, we take a different approach to conserving the world’s most biologically diverse regions. First, we are guided by a deep respect for the people who live in these remarkable places. We foster solutions that originate with local people rather than prescribing our own from afar. Nature and Culture works directly with local and indigenous communities to define and achieve their own conservation goals, from protection of habitats to the sustainable use of land and preservation of native cultures.

Our staff members live in the places they protect. As trusted neighbors, they develop strong relationships within their communities to better understand and protect the surrounding ecosystems. We build our presence for the long term, partnering with the governments of Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and Mexico to implement large-scale initiatives that integrate conservation into the framework of the country.

Supporting conservation from the bottom to the top of society translates into unparalleled efficiency. Beyond financial efficiency, preserving irreplaceable habitats and their extraordinary species in Latin America is a simply priceless investment that will still be paying dividends thousand or millions of years from now.

Our conservation model just works

When first considering a potential project, Nature and Culture conducts a screening process to ensure feasibility and success. We consider the size of the potential site, biological and cultural diversity, imminent threats, and cost. We look for projects that will be embraced locally, and identify local talent, or local conservationists and partners that can help. Once we screen a site on the ground, our staff executes the strategy that makes the most sense for each situation.

OUR CONSERVATIONISTS CATALYZE AND EMPOWER LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Indigenous peoples have lived on their lands for countless generations. Over centuries, they have shaped, and been shaped by, the surrounding ecosystems, their homes. Their cultures and livelihoods are inextricably woven into the fabric of nature around them. If those ties begin to unravel, it is both to their detriment and to the detriment of the lands that sustain them.

Nature and Culture assists indigenous peoples in maintaining connections to their lands, with support to strengthen land tenure, establish community conservation areas and generate income sustainably.

WE DO THE MAPPING, LEGAL, AND GOVERNMENT APPROVAL WORK

Nature and Culture support communities with our GIS mapping capabilities located in Loja, Ecuador so that project boundaries, watersheds, species diversity, and community land use are clearly well defined.

We bring legal expertise. Our on-staff lawyers specialize in land tenure and protected areas creation.

Finally, we have the relationships and know-how to harness community support and guide projects through regulatory and government approval processes.

PROTECTED AREAS ARE SUSTAINABLY MANAGED FOR THE LONG-TERM

When Nature and Culture contemplates a new protected area, we think through its whole life cycle: from legal creation to financing to governance and long-term management with local community associations.

In 22 years, Nature and Culture has not had a single protected area reversed. We are in it for the long haul. We want to see the areas we help create become sustainable and we work hard to achieve that.

We specialize in four types of reserves

GOVERNMENT RESERVES

Whether local, regional, or federal, a government reserve signifies the highest level of protection for a country’s natural heritage. Our close partnerships with government agencies support the path to official environmental stewardship.

COMMUNITY RESERVES

We work with indigenous communities to preserve their cultural heritage and the forests that have sustained them for thousands of years. We also work with Andean communities to protect their life-giving watersheds. Currently, Nature and Culture helps 13 indigenous tribes and 74 Andean communities.

PRIVATE RESERVES

Because many endangered forests are in private hands, outright acquisition is sometimes the only approach. By acquiring key parcels, Nature and Culture has expanded existing national parks, created new reserves, and preserved critical watersheds.

BIOSPHERE RESERVES

These UNESCO designated reserves are places that hold exceptional characteristics of natural beauty, biodiversity, cultural heritage, sustainable development, scientific research, and policies that improve the lives of local people.

People who live in nature must benefit from conservation

The wellbeing of local people is an integral part of a conservation management plan. People living surrounded by nature would prefer to conserve it for generations to come. Nature and Culture makes that possible. Learn more about our sustainable development work.

We use water as a tool for conservation

We need healthy ecosystems for myriad reasons. One of the most tangible is water. Nature and Culture harnesses the basic human need for clean, abundant water to drive conservation. Learn more about our focus on water.