An accountability charter for conservation NGOs

Conservation activities sometimes result in undesirable and unacceptable social costs which can, in turn, undermine the local and global support base on which successful conservation relies.

Many conservation organisations are working to better understand the impact of conservation actions on local people and the role that those affected by conservation could have in both promoting conservation and benefiting from it.

International law and a multitude of accords have laid out many standards but their relevance to, and application by, international conservation organisations has been limited in terms of their requirement for accountable action and/or accessibility to local communities seeking solutions for damage or loss suffered.