Conservationists have long recognized the significance of engaging locals in safeguarding the ecosystems they live off, but assessing those relationships can be hard because of time and resource constraints. Now, an international research team has parsed how such involvement more so, they say, than penalties for violations shapes the success of a swath […]
Shauna Mahajan is a senior social scientist committed to developing inclusive and holistic conservation solutions. With an interdisciplinary background in resilience thinking, environment, and development, her work and research focus on the social dimensions of conservation.
Gabby Ahmadia, Ph.D., is a director of marine science at WWF focused on conservation in coastal ecosystems and lucky enough to work with colleagues and communities to help conserve some of the most beautiful places on the planet.
Despite diversity, equity, and inclusion gaining mainstream attention in conservation, the data shows that we still have a long way to go to make meaningful progress towards creating a truly inclusive conservation science community. But there’s a lot to be hopeful for: the scientific community is increasingly challenging the norms about what a scientist should look like and recognizing the barriers that women in science face. Change is on the horizon.