In this monthly employee spotlight meet Dr. Monique Vanni, Country Director of Brazil for Wildlife Works. Monique’s dedication and passion for community-led conservation have made her an invaluable part of our team and efforts to start new projects in Brazil.
Monique will be at Biodiversity COP16 next week - contact us to schedule a meeting here.
Q: What inspired you to join Wildlife Works?
A: Communities choose how to invest. After working a lifetime in development organizations where investments are chosen for them, the possibility of working on projects where communities get to pick how they want investments to be made was so exciting to me. This is a less talked about aspect of our work, but Wildlife Works really empowers communities to decide what they want to do and how, and that's often a first. It's very exciting to facilitate this process. I truly work for the community, and that gets me out of bed every morning.
Q: Recount an experience that was pivotal in building trust with community partners
A: Recently, I had a first meeting to kick off an FPIC process with a community. We had one day to get to know each other. They had spoken to other developers and heard a lot of mismatched information.
I was able to sit down with them, and share with them all of the challenges that we faced, from regulatory uncertainty, to price fluctuations, and having to build a strategy to actually stop deforestation for the long term.
“This is going to be hard, but it's worth it and we're in it together.” They felt like they weren't been sold to, or that I was trying to convince them of anything. That short day together created a bond that we've build upon since.
Q: What gives you hope that humanity can overcome the challenges of climate change and the biodiversity crisis?
A: My team, the communities where I work. Their dedication and resilience keep me going. Watching people move mountains every day reminds me that things are actually moving, even if beneath the surface. But if we can't get the world to pay attention and really save these forests, we'll be toast. literally.
Q: Describe a situation where you overcame challenges to deepen understanding with communities
A: The language barrier can feel overwhelming sometimes, because it's not just a language barrier, it's a cultural barrier. We need to translate concepts into a completely different universe, and that can be very difficult.
We are increasingly working with community to codesign the materials we use in our capacity building. They're involved from the very beginning, and work with us to design the syllabus, and the approach. It's a lot more than just translating something ready made, but rather creating something together, that they can truly own.
Q: What message would you convey to someone skeptical about carbon markets?
A: We don't have time to waste. Preserving forests is a no brainer, this isn't an either or situation. A lot needs to happen, but we can protect forests right now. The worst that could happen is that a lot of communities access a better life and we preserve crucial biodiversity.
Q: What is the most misunderstood aspect of running a project on the ground?
A: That it's a balancing act. Our universe, and our market has processes and expectations that can mean very little to communities. On site, it's all a process of continued engagement, from one phase to another. We just need to be there, and build out the project in the community's time.
Q: What book are you currently reading?
A: I'm currently reading Behave, by Sapolvksy, about the biology of human behaviour. As a favourite book, spending time in the field creates time for the big novels, so would say Anna Karenina.
