People-Centered Conservation
Conservation succeeds or fails through people. Build the social fluency, ethical grounding and stakeholder engagement skills to partner respectfully with communities, honor Indigenous and local rights, and design conservation projects that last because the people they affect shape them from the start.
$125
Total: Course cost
5 hours to complete
modules
Online - self-paced
Learning modality
Earn a credential
View credential
$125
Total: Course cost
5 hours to complete
modules
Online - self-paced
Learning modality
Earn a credential
View credential
$125
Total: Course cost
5 hours to complete
modules
Online - self-paced
Learning modality
Earn a credential
View credential
$125
Total: Course cost
5 hours to complete
Duration
Online - self-paced
Overview
People-Centered Conservation introduces the social dimensions of conservation practice, equipping you to partner respectfully and effectively with communities whose lives, rights and futures intersect with the ecosystems you serve.
Key Benefits
- Map stakeholders and analyze power dynamics in conservation contexts.
- Apply rights-based approaches grounded in Indigenous and local realities.
- Integrate gender, equity and social inclusion into project design.
- Recognize safeguards risks and the accountability mechanisms that address them.
What's Included
- Real-world case studies illustrating social complexity in conservation work.
- Frameworks for stakeholder mapping, community engagement and rights analysis.
- A capstone deliverable: apply rights-based analysis, stakeholder mapping and safeguards design to a real conservation case study.
Who this course is designed for
This course is built for undergraduate and graduate students, early-career professionals, and anyone whose conservation work depends on collaborating well with people. If you're pursuing roles in conservation, sustainability, international development or environmental policy, you will gain the social fluency, ethical grounding and engagement frameworks to work alongside communities and partners with respect, accountability and lasting impact.
Outcomes
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Map stakeholders and analyze power, interests and influence in conservation settings.
- Apply rights-based and people-centered approaches to project planning and decision-making.
- Integrate gender, equity and social inclusion considerations across conservation work.
- Identify social risks and apply appropriate safeguards and accountability mechanisms.
- Engage communities, Indigenous peoples and local partners with cultural respect and integrity.
Practical skills you will develop
This program equips learners with vital skills to thrive in today's complex workforce. Key skills include:
Program support
Have additional questions?
Please reach out directly to conservationfuturesacademy@asu.edu for all course content related questions.
Connect with our team
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