As part of the MPhil in Conservation Leadership, Maritza McCudden completed a professional placement with Fauna & Flora focused on how connection to place and belonging can strengthen people-centered conservation.
Conservation has often relied on regulatory, educational, or incentive-based approaches. While valuable, these strategies can overlook the lived experiences, cultural histories, and relationships that communities hold with their environments.
Maritza’s placement project asked: How can conservation honor people’s sense of place and belonging, while fostering stewardship and resilience?
Drawing on a literature review, semi-structured interviews, and a site visit to Fauna & Flora’s Scotland programme, Maritza assessed how place-based conservation principles are integrated across regional and cross-cutting teams. Four indicators guided the research:
· Local ecological literacy – valuing local and traditional knowledge of ecosystems.
· Cultural & historical respect – honoring heritage and memory in conservation practice.
· Belonging & stewardship – recognizing emotional connections that inspire care for place.
· Community-led governance – ensuring shared power and decision-making.
Key Insights
The research indicated that although Fauna & Flora collaborates with local partners, the incorporation of place-based principles differs by region. Some programmes show a strong commitment to cultural context, local leadership, and participatory decision-making, while others still depend on more consultative, top-down methods and are beginning to adopt more people-centered strategies. Based on the analysis of programmes with higher indicator scores, Maritza identified five key conditions that support effective place-based conservation, which she summarized in the PLACE framework.
· Participatory: When people engage in conservation, it’s not just about being informed.
· Locally Focused: When context, memory, and culture guide decisions.
· Adaptive: When we allow flexibility, complexity, and change
· Cross-Cultural: When knowledge and cultural systems are acknowledged
· Empowering: When communities hold power, not just permission
Fauna and Flora is well-positioned to integrate these enabling conditions into their already existing conservation practice and continue supporting a people-centered approach to people and nature.
Belonging emerged as a challenging concept to define and apply consistently in conservation. Though the conservation community's interest in this topic is increasing, including in Fauna and Flora, which drew significant attention to Maritza’s final presentation, where 70 staff members attended and showed great interest in her findings and outcomes.
This placement demonstrated that place-based conservation is not only about protecting biodiversity but also about nurturing relationships between people and nature, rooted in history, culture, and a sense of belonging. By centering these dimensions, a people-centered strategy in conservation can contribute to more just, resilient, and enduring conservation outcomes.