Away from the urban bustle of Ecosperity Week 2026 in Singapore, a multi-stakeholder session gathered over 80 practitioners, funders and community leaders to explore how durable climate action, conservation and livelihoods intersect through women-led and community-driven approaches.

Featured sharing focused on the practical realities from across Southeast Asia. A panel of conservation experts alongside a community leader from the Philippines was present at the event to share how conservation unfolds on the ground, and what enables nature-based solutions to deliver lasting impact for both people and ecosystems. Hearing the experiences from the communities we serve and the perspective of those in service to them provided an emotionally resonant experience for those in the room and fueled the breakout conversations that delved into the following themes in depth.

Re-centering women in conservation

They are not beneficiaries. They are our partners.

A central theme was the need to reframe women’s role in conservation. Rather than being treated as beneficiaries by the providers who travel into their communities, women’s role as primary stewards of natural resources in many communities should be recognized at the outset. Their daily responsibilities, which may include securing water, managing food systems and supporting livelihoods, place them in direct and constant interaction with ecosystems.

This results in a form of lived expertise that shapes how risks, trade-offs and long-term resilience are understood. Women’s perspectives often extend beyond production to include wellbeing, cultural practices and intergenerational considerations—dimensions that are frequently not incorporated in project design.

In the Coral Triangle, for instance, women are responsible for much of the daily work on the coast. They fish in the shallows, process and sell the catch, run household economics, and ensure community adaptation to sea changes. Yet, they are often still left out of decisions about fisheries, marine protection and financing in the waters they understand so deeply.

The Nature Conservancy works across the Coral Triangle, including alongside the Indigenous and local women of the region, to change that. Efforts include training Indigenous women in leadership, governance and ecological monitoring, as well as improving access to paid work. 

What women’s leadership changes in practice

Another perspective considered how women’s leadership can shape conservation outcomes in tangible ways. Participants pointed to stronger emphasis on inclusion, fairness in benefit-sharing and long-term stewardship as features of women-led efforts.

Participatory exercises across Southeast Asia revealed distinct yet complementary perspectives. While men often focused on infrastructure and production, women highlighted homes, water sources and cultural spaces. Together, these views provide a more complete understanding of how landscapes function socially and ecologically.

Without inclusive perspectives, conservation risks missing how communities actually use and depend on ecosystems.

Persistent barriers to participation

Despite their central role, women remain under-included in conservation leadership. Barriers include caregiving responsibilities, limited access to training and networks, cultural expectations and safety concerns in field-based work.

Sentiments were shared that there are not enough visible women leaders, which holds us back.

Participants noted that these constraints are often systemic and cumulative. Beyond participation targets, attendees and speakers at the session called for approaches that enable women to lead, influence decisions, and shape systems over time.