About Us
Welcome to Eurasian Wildlife and Peoples!
Our mission is to protect the interconnected web of wildlife on our planet, reverse losses of wildlife and habitats, and amplify the voices and concerns of Indigenous peoples and local communities across Eurasia.
We envision a world with thriving and resilient ecosystems, where all peoples live sustainably, rooted in interwoven cultures and self-determination.
Our organization grew out of The Altai Project, a Greater Altai-focused initiative that closed its doors in late 2023.
Wildlife
Together with conservation groups, scientists, and community leaders and activists across Eurasia and in the United States, we:
Support wildlife research and biodiversity conservation
Raise awareness and increase engagement in wildlife conservation
Exchange best practices on wildlife conservation with experts around the world
Implement strategies to protect wildlife diversity with a particular focus on protected areas
Peoples
Whenever and wherever possible in our work, we support and engage with Indigenous peoples and local communities. We believe that Indigenous peoples hold the key to a thriving and resilient planet. We seek to:
Amplify Indigenous voices and raise awareness of community struggles for environmental justice and basic human rights.
Promote the rights of Indigenous peoples to self-determination, self-governance, and sustainable natural resource use
Recognize and aid in protecting Indigenous traditional lands, sacred spaces, and traditional ecological knowledge
Where/what is Eurasia?
There are many ways to define “Eurasia.” For our purposes, we focus on wildlife and peoples stretching from Mongolia in the east to Eastern Europe in the west. That region encompasses a wealth of ecosystems that are home to many different species and myriad ethnic groups and Indigenous peoples.
How we work
Based in the United States, we seek to bridge the gap – knowledge, resources, expertise, and beyond – between “Western civilization” and Eurasian ecosystems and communities. We:
Raise awareness about nature conservation, Indigenous rights, and sustainable development
Campaign to prevent or mitigate potentially destructive development that threatens ecosystems and wildlife and just transitions for communities
Facilitate knowledge exchanges among experts and communities
Capacity-building in civil society organizations and initiatives
Strengthen protected areas (including sacred sites)
In collaboration with other international nonprofits, we support and participate in activism to prevent or mitigate potentially destructive development that threaten ecosystems, communities, and biological diversity. Our partners are generally people and organizations in the local community, and we strive to maintain long-term relationships.
Eurasian Wildlife and Peoples operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Earth Island.
Since 1982, has been a hub for grassroots campaigns dedicated to conserving, preserving, and restoring the ecosystems on which life depends. Earth Island provides comprehensive fiscal sponsorship and project support to a vibrant network of activists and social entrepreneurs promoting ecological sustainability and environmental justice.
Earth Island provides an organizational home in which project leaders can develop campaigns and programs with a minimum of bureaucracy. An alternative to dozens of separate nonprofits each duplicating basic administrative functions, Earth Island projects function with programmatic autonomy while sharing critical services including: governance and compliance, financial management and administration, training and technical assistance, as well as a supportive peer learning network.