The U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) works to link funders with community-based conservation groups, ensuring that much-needed resources are reaching the frontlines. In a Mongabay Newscast episode in July, Jean-Gaël “JG” Collomb, CEO of WCN, advocates for giving more unrestricted funding to local groups who know the environment best, allowing them to decide how to use the money. “We’re a huge fan of being able to encourage people to give unrestricted to those organizations. And the rationale behind it is, is that those organizations who are based on the ground in the field, know best how to use that money. They know what’s needed,” Collomb tells Mike DiGirolamo, host of the Mongabay Newscast. WCN, which has been described as a venture capital firm for conservation, has helped many community-based groups from the Global South access funding from international organizations. Collomb, who co-authored a commentary in Mongabay in December 2024, said there are times when co-designing a project with funders is the best approach since some organizations have guidelines on how their money can be used. However, he said, as much as possible, it’s crucial to build relationships and trust that allow frontline conservationists to decide how to most effectively spend funding granted to them. “I think [unrestricted funding] is giving them more flexibility and empowering them more to have the impact we want them to have,” he added. Collomb said WCN is able to highlight the work of “first actor” frontline communities by bringing funders to the field to see…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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