Asia-Pacific

Protect and restore forests

Conservation International is working in partnership with Indigenous peoples and local communities, governments, and businesses to mitigate climate change by protecting and restoring ecosystems that play a crucial role in absorbing and storing planet-warming carbon.

For three decades, we have been actively involved in the preservation of Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains. Working closely with the Indigenous Chourng and Por tribes, and the Cambodian government, our efforts have focused on to protecting this forest for the benefit of people, nature and climate.

Partnerships for nature and people

Forests, peatlands, and mangroves are mighty carbon sponges that can play a powerful role in mitigating climate change. Yet highly cost-effective climate solutions — such as protecting, restoring and sustainably managing these ecosystems — receive just 3 percent of global climate funding. At Conservation International, we are dedicated to driving corporate partnerships and developing clear pathways for investment in natural climate solutions that can help counter the worst effects of climate change.

For example, in Palawan, in the Philippines, our partnership with Procter & Gamble is providing vital funding to the Mantalingahan Landscape Conservation Project which, through local participation and leadership, aims to accelerate and improve the protection and restoration of more than 120,000 hectares of forest, which is home to more than 12,000 Indigenous peoples and unique wildlife. How? By supporting and diversifying local livelihoods, encouraging the adoption of sustainable financing mechanisms that increase the value of standing forests, promoting alternative markets and securing the local support to ensure sustained management of forest areas.

Learn more about natural climate solutions in Palawan

Scaling up blue carbon

Blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangroves, seagrasses, kelp and tidal marshes, are some of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth. They absorb and store large quantities of carbon in the soil and plant matter — and are an essential part of the solution to climate change.

Conservation International is scaling global action to protect blue carbon ecosystems through innovative research, capacity-building and the establishment of the International Blue Carbon Institute in Singapore. Through the institute, Conservation International is expanding our work with various governments to integrate blue carbon into climate change mitigation policies and initiatives at international, regional and local levels.

Learn more about our work with blue carbon

Balancing production and protection

We are reimagining ocean conservation through innovative approaches that combine marine protection with sustainable fishery management — and are designed to generate their own funding over time.

For example, Blue Halo S — a new model for ocean conservation and fisheries management in Indonesia — integrates environmental protection and economic production. Launched by Conservation International and our Indonesian implementing partner Konservasi Indonesia, together with the Indonesian government and the Green Climate Fund, the project invests income from sustainable fisheries into environmental protection efforts. These, in turn, bolster the natural resources which support commercial production.

Learn more about Blue Halo S

And Conservation International is working with Pacific Island nations to create more sustainable tuna fisheries that increase revenues and jobs in the region.

Learn more about our work with Pacific Island fisheries

Scaling ocean protection

The world's oceans provide income and food, help regulate our weather, and absorb carbon emissions — yet they are under threat. In the Asia-Pacific region, we have helped establish significant marine protected areas, including the world's second-largest marine park — the Natural Park of the Coral Sea in New Caledonia. Protected areas like this one are essential for safeguarding the well-being of the region’s people, supporting endangered wildlife and enhancing climate resilience.

In the Lau Seascape — the most remote island group in Fiji and home to remarkable biodiversity and stunning ecosystems that provide livelihoods, food and cultural value — Conservation International is working with the government and Indigenous communities to sustain 335,000 square kilometers of ocean, accounting for a quarter of Fiji's waters. This bold move toward delivering on Fiji’s goal to protect 30 percent of its ocean by 2030 has been undertaken by Indigenous communities, which represent just 1 percent of Fiji’s population.

Learn more about our work in the Lau Seascape

Partnering with communities

Since its founding in 1987, Conservation International has supported Indigenous peoples and local communities — stewards of nearly 40 percent of the world's intact landscapes — in their efforts to protect their territories. In fact, it was a founding principle of our organization.

We implement a rights-based approach to conservation, which connects human well-being with the protection of nature — providing sustainable livelihoods while maintaining healthy ecosystems. By enlisting all parts of society — Indigenous peoples and local communities, youth and others — we seek to make the conservation movement more inclusive and harness the power of traditional knowledge, science and technology.

Improving livelihoods and sustainability

People are not apart from nature, people are a part of nature. Conservation International collaborates with communities to improve local livelihoods while easing the strain on natural resources. Our innovative solutions are increasing local benefits while incentivizing sustainable economic growth. We are improving fisheries management in the Pacific Islands, helping Philippine farmers replace harmful slash-and-burn practices, and training workers in more efficient fish processing methods on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake.

Sustainable development

The U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals aim to end poverty, fight inequality, prevent environmental degradation, improve public health, and tackle climate change by 2030. One essential element underlies nearly all of these goals: nature. In fact, most of the goals cannot be met if we don’t have healthy, functioning terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.

As one of the youngest nations on Earth, Timor-Leste has a unique opportunity to implement sustainable development models based on nature. Conservation International is the only international nonprofit organization to focus wholly on conservation and environmental issues in Timor-Leste. Our work aims to improve local food security, fight climate change and enhance livelihoods primarily by establishing economies that conserve or use marine ecosystems sustainably.

Learn more about our work in Timor-Leste