Why Economic Justice for Indigenous Groups Is Vital to Saving Endangered Species

We need to start realizing that the goals behind conservation and equity for vulnerable populations are intertwined.

Monarch butterflies spend the warm months migrating throughout the United States and Canada, before congregating in their mountain forest habitat in central Mexico to wait out the North American winter. While citizens of all three countries treasure the monarch’s presence, some of the highest costs of conservation have been “paid” only in Mexico. More specifically, rural and Indigenous communities in Mexico have lost access to lands deemed crucial for the monarch. This “solution” has been imposed on the communities by outsiders, and has undermined a traditional system where humans, monarchs, and other plant and animal species shared the forest successfully.

Migratory species like the monarch butterfly provide an object lesson in the interconnectivity of both landscapes and people. Effective and lasting conservation of migratory species must be a true collaboration between many kinds of communities, spanning countries and cultures. Yet migratory species are in decline, in part because conservation efforts too often disregard the communities that have historically protected them. Our research shows that already advantaged groups—tourists, bird watchers, wealthier farmers—tend to benefit from migratory species. Benefits may come in the form of pest control, pollination, or tourism. Less advantaged groups, often rural and Indigenous people or communities in the Global South, meanwhile, pay a cost in lost economic opportunity to preserve habitats, reaping little or nothing in return. The people protecting habitat deserve compensation. Justice demands it. Practicality demands it too. Conservation efforts that reinforce inequity are not sustainable. Equity in conservation efforts is not only the right way to preserve species—it is the only way.