Community-Based Conservation in Papua New Guinea: Challenges and Opportunities

Ambroise Brenier served as the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Country Director for Papua New Guinea. He led the largest field conservation program in a country home to the third-largest tropical rainforest in the world and surrounded by the world’s most diverse coral reefs. Ambroise and his team worked with the government and hundreds of indigenous communities around the country to triple Papua New Guinea’s marine protected areas coverage, preserve intact forests, promote the sustainable use of natural resources, and improve people's livelihoods.

Prior to this role, he led the Wildlife Conservation Society’s marine conservation efforts in Madagascar, including the creation of three marine protected areas—doubling the country's marine protected area network; the creation of the country’s first shark sanctuary; the development of a fisheries co-management plan, and the creation of dozens of community-managed fishery zones for Madagascar’s largest bay, the latter which was awarded the United Nations Equator Prize in 2014.