The Poverty and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG) Alessandra Giuliani, IIED Kigali, 5 November 2015

1. The Poverty and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG)
Alessandra Giuliani
5 November 2015
Author name
Date
Alessandra Giuliani
5 November 2015
Alessandra Giuliani, IIED
5 November 2015
The Poverty and Conservation
Learning Group (PCLG)

2. The Poverty and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG)
Alessandra Giuliani
5 November 2015
Poverty and Conservation
Learning Group
• An international network of organisations and individuals with a
shared interest in integrated approaches to conservation and
development.
• Established by IIED in 2005
• Currently comprises more than 120 organisations and 600 individuals
• IIED acts as a secretariat to the Group, organising and facilitating its
activities.
• Funded over the years by Ford Foundation and Arcus Foundation,
with co-funding from SIDA, Danida and UK aid from the UK
Government.

3. The Poverty and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG)
Alessandra Giuliani
5 November 2015
PCLG’s mission
Promote better understanding of the linkages between biodiversity conservation and
poverty alleviation in order to improve both development and conservation policy and
practice
When PCLG started in 2005, the group was meant to address the following perceived
problems:
 An ongoing divide between conservation and development practitioners and
policy makers on how - and whether - to link biodiversity conservation with
poverty reduction so that poverty reduction policy better reflects biodiversity
concerns and conservation policy pays greater attention to issues of poverty
and social justice;
 The potential duplication of effort by a number of different organisations that are
trying to strengthen this linkage but are currently grappling independently with
the issues and not learning from each other;
 The lack of an established forum through which participants from a range of
backgrounds can participate on an equal footing to share and analyse emerging
experience in conservation-poverty linkages and identify knowledge gaps and
research needs.

4. The Poverty and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG)
Alessandra Giuliani
5 November 2015
PCLG’s main activities:
• Knowledge sharing: The PCLG carries out a range of knowledge
sharing activities to ensure that our members are always up to
date with the latest developments on the links between
conservation and poverty reduction.
• Research and advocacy: Where possible the Learning Group will
support - or engage in - research and advocacy initiatives that are
in line with our core mission of better understanding and fostering
learning on poverty-conservation linkages. The PCLG's current
research has a thematic focus on the links between great
ape conservation and poverty.
• Events and meetings: The PCLG organises or supports learning
events that tackles key issues of relevance to our Learning Group
members.
• Publications: The PCLG periodically publishes discussion papers
– usually outputs of research that we have been involved in. Our
site also includes other publications related to our work and/or
supported by the PCLG (all PCLG’s publication are on the USB
pen given at registration).

5. The Poverty and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG)
Alessandra Giuliani
5 November 2015
http://povertyandconservation.info

6. Uganda PCLG: How did we get here?
Alessandra Giuliani
Kampala
10 July 2015

7. Uganda PCLG: How did we get here?
Alessandra Giuliani
Kampala
10 July 2015

8. The Poverty and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG)
Alessandra Giuliani
5 November 2015
How to access PCLG
information services?
• Join us page on the PCLG
website
http://povertyandconservation.in
fo/en/pages/join-us
• Sign up for our e-bulletins
• ...and finally look for us on
Facebook and LinkedIn!

9. Uganda PCLG: How did we get here?
Alessandra Giuliani
Kampala
10 July 2015National PCLG groups
• PCLG workshop in November 2010 held in Masindi, Uganda
• Brought together conservation organisations from different
African ape range states to share experience on what works
(and what doesn’t) in linking conservation and poverty
alleviation
• Participants agreed that it would be useful to establish national
chapters of the PCLG network
• Uganda PCLG and Cameroon PCLG started in 2011, DRC
PCLG in 2014 and currently discussing the opportunities for
setting up a PCLG group in Rwanda
• Second round of funding from Arcus foundation from 2013 to
2015

10. Uganda PCLG: How did we get here?
Alessandra Giuliani
Kampala
10 July 2015

11. Uganda PCLG: How did we get here?
Alessandra Giuliani
Kampala
10 July 2015
Going forward…
• PCLG evaluation
A an evaluation of the PCLG initiative is currently
under way. The main purpose of this evaluation is
to understand what PCLG has achieved so far and
if/how PCLG should be taken forward.
In particular we would like to know:
 Is PCLG useful and for whom?
 Should PCLG continue and, if so, what should it do?
 What lessons have we learnt from running PCLG for 10 years?
• Fundraising