Last week, OneNature President Beth Allgood had the opportunity to give a presentation for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEALL) Beyond GDP Group Sessions.
During her talk, Beth discussed well-being in conservation and how it supports communities on the ground and informs systems change. She went through how we can measure and understand the value of nature and wildlife, what the elements of a ‘well-being in conservation’ approach are, how we can apply this approach to climate action, and finally, how we can understand existing community values through data as well as real stories.
At the end of her presentation, Beth recommended the adoption of a new and comprehensive approach to community conservation with a focus on community values and perceptions. Adopting this approach can generate the necessary data to inform and encourage decision-makers to better understand communities’ value and connection to wildlife and nature.
A well-being approach to conservation features five steps:
(1) Deep listening
(2) Adapting the survey and collecting the data
(3) Participatory planning for well-being
(4) Monitoring, evaluation, and adaptation
(5) Scaling and building partner capacity
At OneNature, we maintain that a shift toward a focus on well-being is necessary locally and globally. In community development and conservation programs, the emphasis on economic production as a metric of success has been ingrained for decades. Such an approach can support and sustain communities while educating and inspiring decision-makers to appreciate the importance and connection that local people have to animals and the natural world.
Beth’s presentation will be made available to the public soon (so stay tuned)!
Image by: Anders Jildén via Unsplash.