S5|EP1 - How Community Conservation is Protecting Africa's Wildlife | Chantal Migongo Baké | Chief Conservation Officer, Tusk

Season 5 of the Think Wildlife Podcast returns in a new video format on YouTube and Substack, while continuing to be available on all major podcast platforms. In this episode, host Anish Banerjee is joined by Chantal Migongo Baké, Chief Conservation Officer at Tusk, one of Africa’s leading conservation organisations, for an in-depth discussion on the future of community-led conservation across the continent.Drawing on more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of conservation, communities and sustainable development, Chantal shares her journey into conservation, from growing up in Africa to pursuing environmental social science and ultimately becoming one of the continent’s leading conservation voices. She reflects on the challenges of building a career in a traditionally male-dominated sector, balancing conservation with increasing development pressures, and why spending time in the field and building trust with local communities remain essential to effective conservation.The conversation explores Chantal’s vision for Tusk’s conservation portfolio as Chief Conservation Officer, including strengthening partnerships, reviewing long-term investments, reducing fragmented conservation efforts, and expanding support into Central and West Africa. She explains why successful conservation requires collaboration across organisations and disciplines rather than isolated projects.A major focus of the episode is community-led conservation. Chantal discusses what makes conservation initiatives successful, highlighting the importance of secure land tenure, community governance, equitable resource rights and sustainable livelihood opportunities. Through examples including Kenya’s Northern Rangelands Trust, Namibia’s conservancies and Tanzania’s Wildlife Management Areas, she explains how empowering local communities can deliver lasting conservation outcomes while improving livelihoods.The discussion also examines the growing recognition of Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) and their role in achieving global 30x30 biodiversity targets, as well as the importance of integrating protected areas with community-managed landscapes to maintain ecological connectivity.Chantal also makes a compelling case for preserving traditional ecological knowledge alongside modern conservation science. She discusses why Indigenous knowledge systems are indispensable for understanding ecosystems, why they are increasingly at risk of being lost, and how combining scientific research with local expertise can produce stronger conservation outcomes.The latter half of the episode focuses on one of conservation’s greatest challenges: enabling people and wildlife to coexist. Chantal shares examples of innovative human-wildlife conflict mitigation strategies being implemented across Africa, including early-warning systems, community ranger networks, mobile electric fencing, wildlife monitoring technologies and collaborative learning between conservation organisations. She also reflects on the difficult balance between economic development and biodiversity conservation, arguing that thoughtful planning, meaningful community consultation and landscape-scale approaches can help reconcile these competing priorities.Finally, Chantal discusses the Tusk Conservation Awards, which recognise exceptional African conservation leaders, and explains how individuals can support Tusk’s work. The episode concludes on an optimistic note, celebrating the emergence of a new generation of African conservationists who are reshaping the future of biodiversity conservation across the continent.Whether you’re interested in wildlife conservation, community-based conservation, biodiversity policy, African ecosystems or human-wildlife coexistence, this episode offers valuable insights into some of the most important conservation challenges and opportunities facing the world today.Episode Chapters00:00 – Introduction01:30 – A Career in Conservation03:01 – Challenges in Conservation06:07 – Joining Tusk as Chief Conservation Officer07:18 – Priorities for Tusk10:18 – Community-Led Conservation17:40 – Traditional Ecological Knowledge19:52 – Conservation vs Development23:19 – Wildlife Corridors and Landscape Connectivity26:33 – Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation30:34 – Tusk Conservation Awards33:09 – How to Contribute35:02 – Looking Ahead: Optimism for Conservation#CommunityConservation #CommunityBasedConservation #WildlifeConservation #BiodiversityConservation #ThinkWildlifePodcast #ConservationPodcast #AfricanWildlife #AfricanConservation #HumanWildlifeConflict #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge #CommunityConservancies #WildlifeCorridors #LandscapeConnectivity #Biodiversity #NatureConservation #ConservationLeadership #Tusk #Africa Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe