The Naivasha Vision

By placing people and their rights at the centre of our work, we are building a just, progressive environment for African conservation. Local leaders and organizations have the power and agency to advance their work with the support of partners from across the globe through equitable partnerships that are closing the funding gap to achieve greater conservation impact.

Courageous self-awareness of each individual and the collective power of the whole steer this vision. Our shared values of respect, diversity, dignity, kindness, equity, intentionality, empathy and transparency are making our shared goals a reality.

Our shared vision includes:

  • Communities are the key actors in African conservation. It is community lands where conservation efforts play out. We see Communities as key investors, and not just beneficiaries as we acknowledge the work they have done to manage natural resources, and the effort it will take to restore and nurture them in the long term.

  • Conservation must prioritize supporting and strengthening community governance institutions, including rights over lands and natural resources. Conservation initiatives that fail to respect local and Indigenous rights, customs, livelihoods, and values are harmful to both people and nature. Conservation practices that violate human rights must be met with solidarity and collective action to be relegated to the past. 

  • While many talk of building communities’ capacity, the real priority in African conservation is to build the capacity of other actors to better support, strengthen, and collaborate with communities and the local organizations that support them. All actors must improve their ability to support communities as equal and equitable partners. 


We will achieve greater impact together through these jointly developed guiding principles.

Organizational Endorsement of Vision and Principles:

By endorsing this Vision, your organization agrees with it in principle and it is aligned with your beliefs.  Through the power of the collective, by keeping it in focus, we can together over time work towards greater change.