038. Exploring Possible Futures for Conservation NGOs: Anca Damerell @ Luc Hoffman Institute

Summary

What is the future for conservation NGOs? 

Is there a future? 

If so, what kinds of roles, mandates, organizational culture, and capabilities do conservation NGOs of the future need to embrace? 

That was the question that a small team of consultants, including yours truly, tried to address by providing 15 - sometimes bold -- propositions for changes in roles and mandates.
 

In this episode, I interview Anca Damerell, Head of Programme at the Luc Hoffmann Institute,  and in turn, she interviews me right back :).  Listen to our dialogue!

Anca’s Bio:

• Head of Programme at Luc Hoffmann Institute
• Research and Innovation Programme Officer at United Nations Environmental Program
• Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Cambridge

We discussed: 

• Many NGOs are somewhat anxiously asking themselves what their relevance, legitimacy, and effectiveness are in the future. NGOs in the conservation sector are no exception to this. 
• The Luc Hoffmann Institute, a leading organization in innovation and transformative change for biodiversity protection, is specialized in turning complex challenges, like this one, into opportunities for change by bringing together diverse views and facilitating the co-creation of innovative solutions. 
• Some of the 15 – sometimes provocative– shifts in roles and mandates for conservation NGOs. 
• Moving towards the envisioned future: The urgent need for a mindset shift and transformative change
• Conservation NGOs need to develop a greater capability to work across sectors, recognizing the cross-sectoral interdependence of conservation with adjacent areas
• Our need to decolonize narratives, and have space for diverse plural narratives

Quotes

“Are NGOs motivated by mission or by self-survival?” 

“This is not about replacing conservation NGOs but about envisaging a much more 'niche- specific 'role, and possibly a smaller presence”

“We don’t have to give in to self-flagellation, but we do have to be willing to shift roles towards much more specific niches, playing primarily facilitative roles vis-a-vis much bigger actors (multinationals, China, security forces etc.)”

Resources:

Anca’s LinkedIn Profile

Link to the report: Exploring Possible Futures for Conservation NGOs

Link to the project page: The future of conservation NGOs

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