The Voice, Choice, and Action (VCA) Framework
A Conservation Practitioner’s Guide to Indigenous and Community-Led Conservation. Version 2.0 brings forward a holistic view of natural systems by broadening the scope of the framework and associated content, language, examples, and evidence to be inclusive of and applicable to freshwater and coastal ecosystems, in addition to terrestrial ecosystems.
Subject Tags
- Fisheries
- Indigenous Peoples
- Equitable conservation
Summary
The Voice, Choice, and Action (VCA) Framework is our common approach to supporting Indigenous and local community authority and capacity in natural resource management and decision making. The VCA Framework is intended for situations where human well-being and environmental outcomes are linked and interdependent, where the leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities is essential to achieving shared goals, where power imbalances may hinder achieving positive results for people and nature, and where projects may significantly impact local communities.
Indigenous Peoples and local communities are vital leaders in the pursuit of lasting solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental and human well-being challenges. They manage or have tenure rights over more than 25 percent of the world’s land and more than double that is claimed but not yet legally recognized, including interconnected systems of forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers, lakes, the underlying groundwater, and coasts.
With their territories harboring more than 24 percent of the world’s tropical forest carbon, and much of global biodiversity, and with nine out of 10 of the 32 million fishers worldwide being small-scale or artisanal fishers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities are critical partners, and have proven to be the most effective stewards of nature in the world.
Citation
The Nature Conservancy (2022). The Voice, Choice, and Action Framework: A Conservation Practitioner’s Guide to Indigenous and Community-Led Conservation, Version 2.0. Arlington, VA.
Keywords: voice, choice, action framework; Indigenous Peoples; local communities; human well-being; environmental outcomes
TNC Authors
-
Nicole DeMello
Social-Ecological Systems Advisor. Equitable Consevation
The Nature Conservancy
Email: ndemello@tnc.org -
Brandie Fariss
Community-Led Conservation Social Scientist. Protect Oceans, Lands and Waters
The Nature Conservancy
Email: brandie.fariss@tnc.org -
Lisa Ferguson
Senior Advisor, Equitable Carbon Markets
The Nature Conservancy
Email: lisa.ferguson@tnc.org -
Shiteng Kang
Freshwater Conservation Scientist. Provide Food and Water
The Nature Conservancy
Email: stan.kang@tnc.org