Respecting Nature, Respecting Each Other

Patricia Mupeta, PhD, is certain: “People and nature are out of balance, and the outcome of that is climate change.”

Patricia has worked for The Nature Conservancy since 2011, and today she leads the human rights and safeguards team. Because of her unwavering curiosity and lived experiences as a wildlife biologist, she is confident that approaching conservation through a human rights lens is essential for many reasons, including bringing more people to the cause. “That approach opens up space for new constituents, which importantly includes communities who have historically been excluded from decision-making.”

Following years of inquiry, TNC adopted a human rights policy in 2022 to formalize foundational principles and commitments. Patricia leads a group of regional safeguards advisors, human rights lawyers and social scientists who are interpreting the policy alongside local teams to better integrate the needs and rights of communities into conservation planning and projects.

A human rights and safeguards advisor helps design and implement conservation efforts in ways that respect and uphold the rights of communities and minimize harm. The team has brought their expertise to TNC’s work around the world, affecting priority landscapes from Belize to Indonesia.

High-Stakes Places

Patricia says collaboration in Brazil is one powerful example of how TNC works at the intersection of people and nature.

Sixty percent of the Amazon lies within Brazil. As the planet’s largest rainforest, the vast region holds one-third of the world’s species and a massive amount of carbon, making it one of the most important places on Earth. But it is also one of the most threatened. One-fifth of the Brazilian Amazon has been lost to deforestation, which diminishes the richness of life and increases greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change.

According to Patricia, “In addition to its unparalleled biodiversity and climate significance, the Amazon rainforest provides fresh water and supports small-scale fisheries, farmers, livestock owners and more than 200 Indigenous and traditional communities, each with distinct cultures and governance systems.”

In the past, many protected areas were established without consent from Indigenous and traditional communities, leading to displacement and erasure of ancestral relationships with the land. Patricia and TNC Safeguard Advisor Ro’otsitsina Juruna are working with colleagues to develop conservation practices that represent a fundamental shift toward community-centered approaches that honor traditional knowledge and relationships with nature.

“Our work builds on the leadership of Indigenous and traditional communities who have long stewarded the Amazon,” says Ro’otsitsina, an Indigenous woman of the Xavante People who was born in the Cerrado biome within the socio-geographic region known as Brazil’s Legal Amazon. “Their governance systems, ecological knowledge and cultural practices are central to shaping conservation outcomes—not just as stakeholders, but as rights holders.”

Ro’otsitsina says that in Brazil and beyond, “TNC is setting a new standard, one that includes people and communities—from the conception of a project to its execution and monitoring.”

From Patricia’s perspective, “this kind of dialogue taps into our humanity, that good we aspire to see. When we respect the rights and priorities of people who live closest to nature, we can tip the scale back to a balanced position.”