Financing conservation differently: Putting local leadership at the center

Conservation and climate finance is changing. Amid real pressure on traditional funding models, new approaches are emerging that could change not only where resources flow, but who gets to shape how they are used. This conversation will focus on what's changing for the better. What promising financing models are emerging? Which approaches are giving local organizations greater agency over resources and decisions? And what can we learn from people who are already designing funding mechanisms around the priorities and realities of the communities they serve? The session will also challenge a familiar narrative. Conversations about conservation finance often begin with crisis: shrinking resources, enormous funding gaps, and escalating environmental threats. Those realities matter, but they can obscure an equally important question: what opportunities does this moment create to rethink how conservation is financed? Maliasili and Mongabay will bring local African conservation organizations into the conversation alongside funders, intermediaries, and others working across the financing landscape. Rather than positioning locally led organizations simply as recipients of funding, the discussion will foreground their experience designing and shaping mechanisms that serve their goals and needs. The aim is to move from diagnosing what is broken toward exploring what can be built: funding strategies that align resources more closely with local leadership, agency, and impact, and a conservation finance system in which those closest to the work have a greater role in shaping it. What to expect A participatory discussion built around stories, practical experiences, and perspectives from across the conservation funding ecosystem. Rather than relying on a traditional panel, the conversation will draw on contributions from throughout the room, including voices that do not often get the mic in discussions about financing. Participants will be encouraged to share emerging models, challenge assumptions, and build on one another's experiences to identify where meaningful shifts are already happening and what could accelerate them. Who this is for This session is for locally led conservation organizations, philanthropic funders, intermediaries, climate and conservation practitioners, and others interested in developing financing approaches that strengthen local leadership, agency, and long-term impact. What you will get out of it Examples of promising new approaches to conservation and climate finance Perspectives from local conservation leaders involved in designing funding mechanisms around their own priorities A clearer view of how funders and intermediaries can support greater local agency and decision-making Space to move beyond a crisis narrative and explore opportunities for reform Connections across the funding ecosystem with people experimenting with different ways to align capital, local leadership, and impact Hosted by Maliasili Mongabay