Panel on Moving From Custodians to Decision-Makers: Rights as the Foundation of Conservation

11/10/2025
14:00 - 14:45
Human-Centred Conservation Pavilion

Pourquoi participer

Conservation too often casts communities as “custodians” without authority. Human-Centred Conservation insists rights are foundational, not optional. This panel explores how to move from tokenism and benefit-sharing to real power-sharing—where Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities hold secure rights, legal recognition, and decision-making authority in conservation and climate action.

Description de la séance

Conservation has often recognised communities as “custodians” of biodiversity, but too rarely as decision-makers with real authority. Human-Centred Conservation argues that rights are not an add-on to conservation — they are the foundation of effective, just, and sustainable practice.

This panel explores how to move from benefit-sharing to genuine power-sharing, where Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP & LCs) have secure land rights, legal recognition, and authority over the governance of their territories. Panellists will discuss why rights-based approaches matter for both conservation and climate action, the difference between participation and true decision-making power, and the risks of tokenistic or performative inclusion. They will also reflect on what happens when conservation restricts rights rather than restores them — and how to build models where justice, authority, and ecological integrity go hand in hand.
Organised by
Jamma International ( United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland )

Moderator

Speaker Lesle JANSEN

Panel on Moving From Custodians to Decision-Makers: Rights as the Foundation of Conservation

Speaker

Speaker AUSTIN SMITH

Panel on Moving From Custodians to Decision-Makers: Rights as the Foundation of Conservation

Panel on Moving From Custodians to Decision-Makers: Rights as the Foundation of Conservation

Speaker Rodgers LUBILO

Chairperson| President, Community Leaders Network Southern Africa

Panel on Moving From Custodians to Decision-Makers: Rights as the Foundation of Conservation