Purpose of the Session

This roundtable will bring together frontline community organizers, conservation practitioners, and advocates to explore how durable conservation movements are built in the Caribbean. Using two ongoing community-led campaigns as case studies, participants will gain insight into the organizing strategies, legal tools, partnerships, and advocacy approaches being used to protect habitats, watersheds, and biodiversity across the region.

Background and Rationale

Across the Caribbean, forests, watersheds, coastal ecosystems, and critical bird habitats face increasing pressure from unsustainable development and resource extraction, often outpacing environmental regulation and enforcement. In many cases, the first line of conservation action is not an institution, but local communities working to protect the places where they live.

This roundtable draws on two active examples of community-led conservation advocacy. In Dominica, the Save Deux Branches campaign has mobilized community organizations to challenge unauthorized development activities within a declared forest reserve above a critical watershed, using legal action, Indigenous rights frameworks, scientific evidence, public education, and the Escazú Agreement to support their efforts.

In Grenada, the Grenada Land Actors have worked since 2019 to protect critical coastal habitats, including important habitat for the endangered Grenada Dove, leading to a landmark 2024 ruling from the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal affirming the right of citizens to bring environmental challenges before the courts. This session aligns strongly with the conference theme, Birds, People, Prosperity: Harnessing the Caribbean’s Natural Advantage, by highlighting the critical role that organized communities, local leadership, and civic participation play in protecting biodiversity and sustaining healthy ecosystems across the region.

Session Objectives

• Share lessons learned from two active Caribbean conservation campaigns
• Explore legal, organizing, communications, and advocacy strategies used in community-led conservation efforts
• Identify barriers facing grassroots conservation movements, including legal, institutional, funding, and capacity challenges
• Examine connections between bird conservation, watershed protection, land rights, and community resilience
• Foster stronger collaboration among community organizers, researchers, and conservation practitioners across the Caribbean

Session Structure and Format

The session will begin with a brief introduction from the facilitators to frame the discussion and establish an open, participatory atmosphere. Two short case study presentations will follow, highlighting the experiences of the Save Deux Branches campaign in Dominica and the Grenada Land Actors initiative.

The remainder of the session will focus on a facilitated roundtable discussion and audience participation centered around several guiding questions related to conservation advocacy, community organizing, legal tools, partnerships, and movement-building in the Caribbean context.

Seating and facilitation will prioritize dialogue and active participation rather than passive listening. Key discussion points, lessons learned, and recommendations will be documented and shared with participants following the conference, along with a short written summary for broader circulation through regional conservation networks.

Target Audience

Conservation practitioners, NGOs, educators, outreach professionals, students, early-career professionals, community organizers, and members of the general public interested in conservation advocacy and community engagement.

Expected Outcomes

• Increased understanding of strategies and lessons from active Caribbean conservation campaigns
• Stronger connections among community advocates, conservation scientists, and practitioners
• Identification of shared challenges and opportunities for community-led conservation across the region
• Initial groundwork for a regional network or working group focused on community conservation advocacy
• Greater visibility and recognition of grassroots conservation leadership in the Caribbean