Inspiring Change In Conservation with Brett Jenks, RARE.org

Today I'm joined in conversation by Brett Jenks, CEO of Rare, a solution orientated global conservation organisation with a distinctly human approach. 

Unlike our historical models of creating national parks that exclude humans to preserve nature, Rare refuses to view people as the problem, instead embracing them as partners in conservation that enables both people & nature to thrive.  Brett highlights several of Rare’s established projects partnering with local communities around the world, giving them the support to become successful stewards of their own natural world. The Fish Forever project a community led approach to restore, protect & manage coastal seas across 8 countries & Lands For Life which teaches Regenerative Agriculture to farmers in Columbia.

In this mindset shifting conversation Brett shares how Rare successfully utilises human behavioural insights into their groundbreaking ideas, including creating a video game that literally plants trees, the Climate Action Now App that empowers consumers & an innovative Impact Investment Fund to provide alternative financial backing for conservation.

Brett left me truly inspired, imagining what is possible as we break free of traditional conservation models & embrace the unlimited potential available when humans remember their role as stewards & set our intention to work with the amazing wisdom Mother Nature has. 

Learn more about Brett

Brett is the CEO of Rare, a nonprofit that has led environmental conservation projects for 50 years & impacted the lives of millions, helping people & nature thrive together through community-led efforts across 60 countries. 

Brett was a journalist and film producer before he traveled to Costa Rica in 1992 for a government-partnered English teaching program. There, he designed an award-winning local ecotourism program for Rare and rose through the ranks to become CEO in 2000.   

Under Brett’s leadership, Rare has grown 3,000% and expanded its budgets to $30M. He notably scaled Rare’s Fish Forever program of revitalizing coastal fisheries to reach 2,000 communities across 8 countries, and launched partnerships with government agencies, NGOs, and companies like Bloomberg Philanthropies, Meta, Netflix, UNDP, and Nat Geo.

He has dedicated 20+ years to changing the behavioral approach to conservation. His views have featured across major publications like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. In 2017, he was awarded the Rose-Walters Prize for Global Environmental Activism. 

Website: https://rare.org/