It takes a village : the importance of community engagement in conservation

Abstract

Since 2000, when we began our project to conserve the Critically Endangered Ridgway’s Hawk in the Dominican Republic, we began to hire and train local crew members to help carry out the field work. In 2011, we increased our recruitment and training efforts greatly. One of our main goals is to make the project sustainable in the long-term, which means giving locals the opportunity and the means to support their families while working directly for conservation.