Developed in response commercial logging pressures and a lack of public services, the Wanang Conservation Area is an alliance of ten indigenous, rainforest-dwelling clans that together protect 10,000 hectares of forest for biodiversity research, carbon storage, and sustainable livelihoods. The initiative maintains a 'forest dynamics plot', where they have planted more than 280,000 trees to study their responses to changing climatic conditions.  A research station, which is one of the largest in the country, serves as a capacity building hub and trains Wanang villagers and students are as para-ecologists and research technicians.  The research station enhances communication between the local population and research scientists, provides a source of livelihoods, and supports environmental learning. The initiative has become a model for community-driven conservation and development in the country and is a powerful example of partnership between a self-governed community, local NGOs, government, and research institutes. It is also a model of resistance to commercial logging interests in a region being ravaged by deforestation.  Forest conservation has become the cornerstone of the local economy, with partnerships creating greater access to health, education, and food security.

 

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