Group items tagged

Rare inspires change so people and nature thrive. Conservation ultimately comes down to people - their behaviors toward nature, their beliefs about its value, and their ability to protect it without sacrificing basic life needs. And so, conservationists must become as skilled in social change as in science; as committed to community-based solutions as national and international policymaking. Nowhere are community-based solutions needed more than in the world's areas of highest biodiversity - from Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa and India to Asia and the Pacific islands. These areas may be rich in natural resources, but poverty is also high, making social and environmental change a challenge for hundreds of thousands of communities. Rare and its partners in 50+ countries throughout these regions are committed to designing conservation programs that benefit both people and nature - ensuring that change is embraced and sustained. Learn more about Rare's mission and brand. The Rare approach includes: 1) Determining human behaviors causing threats to biodiversity, such as overfishing, illegal logging, or unsustainable agriculture 2) Conducting an ongoing search for the most innovative community-based solutions proven to change these behaviors - what Rare calls conservation "bright spots" 3) Launching social marketing campaigns to increase adoption of these alternative behaviors in the world's highest priority areas for conservation. Putting conservation in local hands While Rare sources solutions, it does not directly implement outreach at the local level. Changing behaviors requires a nuanced understanding of social and cultural norms and trusted messengers from within each community. Therefore, Rare trains local partners and supports them during all stages of implementing what's known as a "Pride campaign." Learn more about running a Pride campaign in your community. A Pride campaign inspires people to take pride in the species

In the past 20 years, Rare has launched more than 200 conservation campaigns in over 50 countries addressing issues such as illegal poaching, deforestation and overfishing while working to protect a diverse range of species from hawksbill turtles to Siberian tigers. Learn more about Rare's current programs below. Rare is training and mentoring nine Rare Conservation Fellows and eight fisheries experts in Guadalajara to implement campaigns focused on reducing overfishing throughout Latin America. Plenty of fishermen on the seas Replenishing fish supplies in the Mesoamerican Reef, Gulf of California and the Galapagos It's so simple. Protect marine areas and the diversity, size and abundance of fish increase dramatically. Fish and people live healthier and wealthier lives. And yet in the last few decades rampant overfishing has led to a rapid depletion of marine wildlife. The first step needed to reverse this destruction is community awareness, so Rare is uniquely positioned to address the global fisheries crisis. Fishermen typically protest the idea of closing any part of the waters in which they feel entitled to catches. But with some basic education about the self-healing properties of the sea and how conservation leads to financial and nutritional security, attitudes quickly change. The people who depend on the ocean's riches need to be anchored in every step of the process of its protection. Rare has already charted successes through its work with community fisheries throughout Southeast Asia, Madagascar and Fiji. Rare will soon select a new group of community leaders to establish awareness campaigns and marine management expertise in the Gulf of California, the Mesoamerican Reef and the Galapagos. The scalability of these projects is virtually limitless. The problem of overfishing is ubiquitous and the relatively simple solution of establishing areas where fishing is prohibited - a fishery replenishment zone (FRZ) - works anywhere. Within the span