What enables conservation on Indigenous and community lands? Mapping the evidence to support rights-based approaches.

Research Fellow
helen.newing@biology.ox.ac.uk

Helen Newing

Background

My main research interests are in three broad areas: the relationship between conservation and human rights, voluntary standards for tropical commodity production, and applied interdisciplinary methodologies and approaches in conservation research. My field research has been in tropical forests, mainly in Amazonian Peru and in Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa. I am particularly passionate about moving towards rights-based approaches to conservation, and about advancing social science expertise amongst conservationists.

I have a mixed disciplinary background, with a BSc in zoology and psychology from the University of Reading and a PhD in antelope ecology from the University of Stirling. After my PhD I worked for five years in the NGO sector, including with WWF (on project implementation) and Oxfam (on global environmental policy) and then joined the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent as a lecturer in conservation social science. I stayed there for 16 years. During that time my research was principally on collaborative wildlife management, the role of traditional ecological knowledge, and methods and research paradigms in the emerging discipline of conservation social science. I also introduced and directed an interdisciplinary Masters programme in conservation and rural development.

Based on many years of teaching methods in mixed postgraduate classes the brought together students from conservation and from anthropology, I published a textbook on conservation social science methods and approaches, which remains the standard text in this field.

After leaving Kent I returned to the NGO sector, working as a freelance consultant. I joined ICCS in 2018 and since then I have focused on two areas: conservation and human rights, and voluntary standards for socially responsible production of tropical agricultural commodities (especially palm oil). Currently I divide my time between ICCS and Forest Peoples Programme (an international human rights NGO). I also remain passionate about building social science and transdisciplinary skills in the conservation sector.

In 2024 I received a Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Conservation Biology in recognition of my contributions to the discipline.

Research Interests

My principal research interests are as follows:

  • Conservation and human rights, including indigenous-led conservation, biodiversity monitoring, and environmental stewardship; remedy and restitution in connection to protected areas.
  • Applied Interdisciplinary conservation research methodologies and approaches.
  • Protected areas governance.
  • Voluntary standards for tropical commodity production.

Projects

  • Transformative Pathways (2022-2028): Embedding and scaling up the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity: towards transformative change. https://transformativepathways.net/. Funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) through the International Climate Initiative (Internationale Klimaschutzinitiative; IKI).
  • SNAPP (Science for Nature and People Partnership) (2024 – ): Sharing the benefits of conservation.
  • The social and environmental impacts of Vegetable Oils (April to August 2023). IUCN Oil Crops Task Force. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2024-010-En.pdf
  • Good practice in participatory research with local communities: building transdisciplinary understanding. Principle investigator. January – July 2022. Funder OX /BER research Partnership. ICCS. University of Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110708.
  • Towards development of evidence-based policy on fostering enabling conditions for successful conservation outcomes in the lands and territories of indigenous peoples and forest communities. Joint principal investigator. University of Oxford and Forest Peoples Programme. Jan – May 2020: Funder: Strategic Priorities Fund, Research England.
  • Advancing Grievance and Redress Mechanisms in Protected areas. IUCN-led project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) / Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. May 2026 – present. https://iucn.org/story/202607/advancing-grievance-and-redress-mechanisms-protected-areas
  • Establishing Common Ground for conservation research on Indigenous and community territories: a dialogue between researchers and collaborators from Indigenous Peoples and local communities. (January to July 2026).

 

Selected Publications

For a full list please of academic publications please see my entry on Researchgate.

Book:

Newing, H. 2011. Conducting Research in Conservation: A Social Science Perspective. Routledge. 376 pages. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Conducting-Research-Conservation-Newing-2010-10-13/dp/B01K0RC488

Selected peer-reviewed journal papers:

Scriven et al. 2026. Addressing the challenges of managing and monitoring biodiversity in High Conversation Value areas and High Carbon Stock forests within oil palm landscapes. Ecological Solutions and Evidence. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.70162

Brittain, S., Alatorre, A., Bullough, L-A and Newing, H. 2025. Enabling conditions on indigenous and community lands. Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70055

Detoeuf, D., de Lange, E., Ibbett, H., Gupta, T., Monterrubio Solis, C., Mavakala, K., Labao Catapani, M., Hretser, H.E., Milner-Gulland, EJ., Brittain, S., Newing, H., Fariss, B., Spira, C., Eyster, HN., DeMello, N., Wallen, KE., Thornton, SA., Bennett, NJ., Ling Choo, L. (2025). Gap analysis of social science resources for conservation practice. Conservation Biology 39(2): e14463. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14463

Newing, H., S. Brittain, A. Buchadas, O. del Giorgio, C. Fallon Grasham, R. Ferritto, J.R. Garcia Marquez, M. Khanyari, B. König, A. Kulkarni, R. Murali, S. Qin, J. Rakowski, F. Winn, A. Ghoddousi. 2024. ‘Participatory’ conservation research involving indigenous peoples and local communities: Fourteen principles for good practice. Biological Conservation 296, 110708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110708.

Newing, H., Fisher, M., Brittain, S., Kenrick, J., & Milner-Gulland, E. (2023). How can we advance equitable, rights-based conservation? Oryx, 57(3), 273-274. https://doi:10.1017/S0030605323000418

Smallhorn-West, P., Allison, E., Gurney, G., Karnad, D., Kretser, H., Lobo, A. S., Mangubhai, S., Newing, H., Pennell, K., Raj, S., Tilley, A., Williams, H., & Peckham, S. H. (2023). Why human rights matter for marine conservation. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1089154

Mbidzo, M.; Newing, H.; Thorn, J.P.R. Thorn 2021. Can Nationally Prescribed Institutional Arrangements Enable Community- Based Conservation? An Analysis of Conservancies and Community Forests in the Zambezi Region of Namibia. Sustainability 131 (19): 10663. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910663

Brittain, S et al. 2021. Conservation and the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities: looking forwards. Oryx 55(5): 641-642.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605321000946

Milner-Gulland et al. 2021. Four steps for the Earth: mainstreaming the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. One Earth 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.12.011

Newing, H., & Perram, A. (2019). What do you know about conservation and human rights? Oryx, 53(4), 595-596. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605319000917

Humphreys, D., et al (2019). SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Focus on Forest Finance and Partnerships. In P. Katila, et al (Eds.), Sustainable Development Goals: Their Impacts on Forests and People (pp. 541-576). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/sustainable-development-goals-their-impacts-on-forests-and-people/5FA75743F80CCE33751BD2095E5754DC

Newing, H.S. 2010. Bridging the gap: interdisciplinarity, biocultural diversity and conservation. Pp 23-40 in: Pretty, J and Pilgrim, S. Eds. Nature and Culture: Rebuilding lost connections. Earthscan. 17 pages. ISBN 978-1-84407-821-9.

Newing, H.S. 2010. Interdisciplinary training in environmental conservation: definitions, progress and future directions. Environmental Conservation 37(4): 410-418. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892910000743

 

Recent non-academic reports

Newing, H., Anderson, P., Jiwan, N. and Del Rosario Zambrano, M. (2025). Engaging with High Conservation Value (HCV) screening: a guide for communities and community support organisations. Forest Peoples Programme. https://www.forestpeoples.org/publications-resources/reports/article/engaging-with-high-conservation-value-hcv-screening-a-guide-for-communities-and-community-support-organisations/

Chausson, A., zu Ermgassen, S., Bull, J. W., Hafferty, C., Milner-Gulland, E. J., Newing, H., Swinfield, T., Thompson, B., & Carter, H. (2025). Balancing Bankability and Integrity: Fostering Investment-Ready Nature-based Solutions. WWF-UK, Woking, United Kingdom. https://www.wwf.org.uk/our-reports/balancing-bankability-and-integrity-fostering-investment-ready-nature-based-solutions

Helen Newing, Amelia Arreguin Prado, Stephanie Brittain, Cathal Doyle, Justin Kenrick, Lassana Koné, Catherine Long, Adam Lunn, Anouska Perram, Lucy Radford, Tom Rowley and Helen Tugendhat. (2024). Conservation and Human Rights: an introduction. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science (ICCS), Oxford UK and Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), Moreton in Marsh, UK. Conservation and human rights: an introduction – ICCS.

Brittain et al (2024) Community-based environmental monitoring: practice guidance for monitoring of natural resources by Indigenous Peoples and local communities. https://transformativepathways.net/introduction-to-community-based-environmental-monitoring-practical-guidance-for-monitoring-of-natural-resources-by-indigenous-peoples-and-local-communities/  (English, Spanish, Thai, Kiswahili, French)

Brittain et al (2024) Ensuring the sustainability of customary use on Indigenous and community-held lands. https://transformativepathways.net/ensuring-the-sustainability-of-customary-use-on-indigenous-and-community-held-lands/  (English, Thai, Kiswahili, French) https://transformativepathways.net/introduction-to-community-based-environmental-monitoring-practical-guidance-for-monitoring-of-natural-resources-by-indigenous-peoples-and-local-communities/

Meijaard, E., Virah-Sawmy, M., Newing, H. S., Ingram, V., Holle, M. J. M., Pasmans, T., Omar, S., van den Hombergh, H., Unus, N., Fosch, A., Ferraz de Arruda, H., Allen, J., Tsagarakis, K., Ogwu, M. C., Diaz-Ismael, A., Hance, J., Moreno, Y., O’Keeffe, S., Slavin, J., Slingerland, M., Meijaard, E. M., Macfarlane, N., Jimenez, R., Wich, S., Sheil, D. (2024). Exploring the future of vegetable oils. Oil crop implications – Fats, forests, forecasts, and futures. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, and SNSB. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2024-010-En.pdf

Supervision

Recent Masters supervisions:

Lillian Ireland (2025): Two-eyed Sea-ing: beneath the surface and beyond the spatial for effective and just Ocean stewardship.

Yasmin Trivedi (2025): Digital Participatory Mapping in Conservation: Beyond Maps, Between Cultures, and Implications for Traditional-Scientific Collaborations.

Jessie d’Urso (2026): The Pitfalls of Global Biodiversity Monitoring: Making Room for Community-Led Initiatives.

 

DPhil supervisions:

Lillian Ireland (2025-present): Pathways towards environmental justice in indigenous marine governance

 

Leah Han (2023-present): International public biodiversity finance.

 

Meed Mbidzo (2016): Co-management of wildlife and forestry resources in Namibia: Implications for governance, livelihoods and natural resource management.

Erika Ikemoto (2016): Agroforestry, innovation and protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon.

Constanza Monterrubio (2015): Community Conserved Areas versus Private Protected Areas: differences in policy and practical implications for communities and biodiversity conservation.

Olivia Swinscow-Hall (2012): Navigating moral dilemmas: participatory development among the egalitarian BaAka of the Central African Republic. (ESRC CASE studentship with Forest Peoples’ Programme).

Emily Caruso (2012): Being at the Centre: Self and Empire among Ene Ashaninka People in Peruvian Amazonia. (ESRC CASE studentship with Rainforest Foundation UK).

Laura Penn (2005): An exploration of zoo theatre’s contribution to the directives of zoos: a case study from the Central Park Zoo in New York.