Impressions from ECA’s Community Engagement Training-of-Trainers 

Part of social justice work is about staying curious and about pushing the boundaries of social norms, decentering and deconstructing. In August, when I got accepted to attend the workshop on Ethical Community-Engagement for Conservation, I tried to come with an open mind. Little had I anticipated that it would be one of my best learning experiences.

Although the training was planned to be held in the seminar room in the Ololo building, the facilitators suggested that we move outdoors next to the lake, where we were to spend the next four days. Not only did conducting the training outdoors meet the themes and strategies of ethical and inclusive conservation, but the physical environment allowed us the freedom of movement, and equipped us with the space to decenter, deconstruct and connect better with nature.

Our facilitators engaged us with PARTNERS principles and facilitated co-learning opportunities by allowing sharing of real-life examples of when these principles were used effectively.

The group also shared their experiences of failures and challenges. We had representatives from Bhutan, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, India, United Kingdom and me from Uzbekistan. We were all different ages, with differing degrees of conservation experiences, approaching conservation from the lens of NGO work, entrepreneurship, emergency situations, eco-tourism, activism, research and government work.

I wrote a poem to capture my experience!

I look up to the blue sky and see the birds passing with a deep backdrop of the atmosphere
I hear the breathing waves splashing on the shores of a salty lake that goes behind the horizon
I smell the morning coffee energizing me for the day to come
I taste the fresh juicy melons ripened from the summer sun

I touch my feet to the ground, digging my feet into the sand, captivated by the stories and hardships faced by everyone

I learn that it’s all about being mindful, a good person, not assuming that people are inherently bad,

That being Present and Respectful and Transparent can take you far
That conservation work is about humans and our actions fall into a spectrum of the how?
We discuss the dilemma of our unique position, do we do it even if it can cause harm? What is the right thing?

Amongst it all communication becomes hard…
We can learn to Negotiate and not be too afraid
Minus the ego, doing it Aptly and Responsively

Keeping in mind people’s other important needs, Strategically Supportively
It’s not easy it’s hard and uncomfortable but Empathy can take us one step far

Searching for the truth, maybe there isn’t one
But worth questioning isn’t it?
Many heads, better than one

This learning opportunity increased my sensitivity to ethical considerations in conservation and I am looking forward to facilitating a similar training to relevant actors in my home country Uzbekistan.

About the author: Fatima Mannapbekova works with communities in Uzbekistan to protect snow leopards and their high mountain ecosystems. She joined the Ethical Conservation Alliance soon after participating in  the workshop.