For over a decade, the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) has partnered with Fondation Segré on a Career Placement scheme that supports aspiring conservationists in taking their first steps towards becoming change-makers in conservation. Here, we reflect on the scheme’s most recent career-catalysing impacts.
“This Career Placement was transformative for both my professional growth and for conservation impact.” – Marcel Twagirarugaba, 2024 CLP Mentee, Rwanda
Early-career conservationist Marcel Twagirarugaba during his 2024 CLP Career Placement on gorilla tracking and anti-poaching efforts in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. He was subsequently recruited by his host organisation as a Field Assistant © International Gorilla Conservation Programme
Between 2022 and 2025, CLP’s Career Placement scheme with Fondation Segré supported 16 young conservationists (“CLP mentees”) across 12 countries in Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean. During their placements, these emerging leaders gained hands-on experience while contributing directly to protecting threatened species and habitats.
After hearing from our mentees on their experiences, and reflecting on the significant impact emerging from these placements, it’s clear that these opportunities are transformative for individual learning and development, and significantly contribute to shaping the future of conservation worldwide.
A global network of change-makers
During 2022-2025, CLP mentees worked in a diverse range of landscapes and nations ranging from the coral reefs of Cambodia to the rainforests of Madagascar. Together, they helped lead vital conservation work focused on protecting 26 priority species and species assemblages in 17 globally significant sites, including Marine Protected Areas, Biosphere Reserves, and World Heritage Sites.
The results of the programme reveal its huge success: 13 of the 16 mentees (81%) were hired by their host organisations after completing their placements.
What’s more, over 3,800 local community members were engaged across Career Placements and 93% of mentees continue to apply the skills and knowledge gained during their Placement.
All mentees reported increased confidence, leadership, and technical ability.
CLP mentee Tharamony Ngoun learned how to dive and conduct marine surveys during her Career Placement in the Koh Sdach Archipelago of Cambodia to contribute to marine turtle conservation © Fauna & Flora Cambodia
Diversity in leadership
It’s widely recognised that local and diverse leadership is critical for conservation success. Leaders with a broad range of local, traditional knowledge and perspectives are more likely to understand the context of local conservation challenges and potential solutions to address them. This fosters innovation and problem-solving, while ensuring social equity and community support. Local knowledge of ecosystems, species, cultures, and community dynamics, ensures conservation strategies are grounded in reality, and more likely to be both effective and sustainable.
CLP is committed to ensuring an inclusive and diverse approach across its conservation programmes. Of the 16 Career Placements we facilitated between 2022-2025:
- Eleven of the 16 mentees (69%) were women
- Five mentees came from underrepresented groups, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
- For most, this was their first paid role in conservation.
Each mentee received structured mentoring from senior conservation professionals while contributing meaningfully to real-world conservation goals.
In Tanzania, CLP mentee Mwanaidi Juma leads a training with coastal communities as part of her 2024 Career Placement © Mwanaidi Juma/Mwambao Coastal Community Network
Real-world conservation impact
CLP mentees have contributed to diverse conservation projects ranging from restoring coral reefs and promoting biodiversity-friendly farming to developing creative communications content and mobilising communities to act.
A notable example is the work of Dirciley Vieira Teixeira in São Tomé and Príncipe, whose work on medicinal plant species with Fundação Príncipe now informs plant conservation education on the island.
Another mentee, Chantia Mahavory in Madagascar, worked with Madagasikara Voakajy in Mangabe Reserve to combine literacy education with environmental awareness for 120 local participants – a programme she continues to this day.
CLP mentee Chantia Mahavory leading community outreach as part of her 2023 Career Placement in Madagascar © Madagasikara Voakajy
And Lisseth Solis in Nicaragua mobilised local people to help remove 200kg of waste from sea turtle nesting beaches and repurposed 800 PET bottles to establish a small circular economy initiative.
“It has been an extremely valuable experience both professionally and personally, which allowed me to strengthen my skills, acquire new learnings and reaffirm my commitment to conservation. I am also grateful for the constant accompaniment, trust and motivation we receive throughout the program. Without a doubt, this opportunity has been an important step in my development within the field of conservation.” – Lisseth Solis, 2024 CLP mentee, Nicaragua
Building a lasting legacy
By the end of their placements, all 16 mentees reported growth in confidence and leadership, while 15 continue to work in conservation today – many in permanent roles within their host organisations.
The cohort remains connected through the CLP Alumni Network, which provides continued access to mentorship, training, and funding opportunities. Indeed, one mentee, Marcel Twagirarugaba, was able to join CLP’s 2024 Conservation Management & Leadership workshop where he met 17 other early career conservationists and participated in training across a wide range of topics including Leadership, Project Planning, Communications, Fundraising and Behaviour Change.
Marcel Twagirarugaba delivering a talk at CLP’s 2024 Conservation Management & Leadership training in Rwanda © CLP
Looking beyond the short-term benefits of our Career Placements, it is clear that such early support to build technical skills, professional networks, and self-belief provides a “career springboard” for aspiring conservationists. Through schemes like these, we are building capable and innovative future leaders who will help overcome the world’s most pressing conservation challenges.
Get in touch if you’d like to know more about what we do and how you can get involved.
Email: clp@birdlife.org