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		How The Nature Conservancy Works How We Work Conservation Science Conservation Initiatives Conservation Process Conservation By Design Conservation by Design Gateway The Future of Conservation Nature Conservancy Partners

The Mission of The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy's mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

Our Approach

We have developed a strategic, science-based planning process, called Conservation by Design, which helps us identify the highest-priority places—landscapes and seascapes that, if conserved, promise to ensure biodiversity over the long term.

In other words, Conservation by Design allows us to achieve meaningful, lasting conservation results.

Worldwide, there will be thousands of these precious places. Taken together, they form something extraordinary: a vision of conservation success and a roadmap for getting there—the Conservation Blueprint. Simply put, by protecting and managing these Last Great Places over the long term, we can secure the future of the natural world.

The Nature Conservancy's Conservation Initiatives

The Nature Conservancy has seven priority conservation initiatives to address the principal threats to conservation at the sites where we work, focusing on fire, climate change, freshwater, marine, invasive species, protected areas and forests.

Our Methods, Tools and Techniques

How can The Nature Conservancy protect all of these places?

We can't buy them all, and we certainly can't protect them single-handedly. But by joining together with communities, businesses, governments, partner organizations, indigenous people and communities, and people like you, we can preserve our lands and waters for future generations to use and enjoy.

Following are just a few of the ways by which we achieve our mission:

Conservation by Design     Nature Travel: Travel with The Nature Conservancy Conservation Journeys Ecotourism Nature Lodging     Conservation Methods Conservation-Friendly Public Policies Public Land Management Parks in Peril Program Convention on Biological Diversity Conservation and Sustainable Development Forums   Funding for Conservation Debt for Nature Swaps Conservation Trust Funds Ecosystem Services Payments Resource Extraction Fees Public Finance Campaigns

Private Lands Conservation Land Acquisition Conservation Easements Conservation Buyer Projects     Our Partners Governmental Non-Profit Local Stakeholders Indigenous People International Multilateral-Bilateral Corporate Partners     Big Ideas: The Future of Conservation Changing the Face of Conservation Harnessing Information Technology Are All Species Equal? Conservation for Us Looking Upstream to Protect Our Coasts Paying Water's Real Costs Think Globally, Act Globally Saving the High Seas

For more information about how we work, see our Tools and Tactics Brochure (PDF, 119KB, new window)