Looking at Conservation Practice Through a Different Lens, led by Dr Siân Waters, Barbary Macaque Awareness & Conservation, Morocco & UK, IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group Section on Human-Primate Interactions, Cochrane Ecological Institute Alberta Canada.

Understanding the historical, cultural and social context of an area enables an incoming conservationist to reflect on their role in communities and to better position themselves both politically and socially within them. Here, I explain how my own positionality has been heavily influenced by my work in the human dimension of conservation. First, during a conservation translocation of swift fox on Blackfeet Tribal Lands, Montana, USA and then in the context of initiating Barbary macaque conservation activities. Based on my experiences, I recommend that all conservationists conduct historical and qualitative research to gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the communities they work in. This understanding should encourage us to recognise our own social and cultural biases, and to decolonise our practice. Attending to our own position may help us to avoid underestimating and alienating people who view conservation actions through a very different but, equally valid lens, and improve conservation translocation project success.

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