Peter Seligmann: Lessons from a lifetime devoted to conservation

I would say the most important thing that we’ve done is being successful in engaging communities of people in protecting really important ecological systems around the Earth. When you add up all the partnerships and all the engagements, we have succeeded in securing an area of land and waters equaling roughly 600 million hectares [nearly 1.5 billion acres].

And we’ve been able to engage indigenous peoples who have a deep connection to the Earth and help them in the management of their territories, give them the support that they need. So what I’m most proud of is the ability of the people at CI to work effectively with so many different communities and different sectors in protecting nature.

I don’t think so. At the very beginning, I met with a really thoughtful and exceptional business adviser, a man named Peter Drucker, and we talked about the idea of the relationship humanity must have with nature, and that it has to be understood to be in the enlightened self-interest of people that nature is important. It was Peter that said to me, “You know, your aspiration is to be a beacon on the hill.”

And so in the beginning, we wanted to be able to show that there was a different approach to the relationship society had with nature. We had to redefine how business operated, how communities operated, and understand how dependent we were on ecological systems. We understood the complexity of this. And so, the ambition was, let’s do it in a few places if we could pull it off. You never know how effective you’ll be.

I have a very strong belief that you have to be true to yourself, and that it is the only healthy way to live. And so, for me, for whatever reason, I’ve seen this connection between the health of community and the health of nature and places. I love the outdoors, I love nature, and I see the joy it gives to people, and I always understood that when you open your tap and the clean water runs out, that water is coming from a place far away.

And it’s the same thing with our food, we look in the supermarket and think, that’s where food comes from, but our food comes from soil, clean air, sunlight and stable climates.

And so, for me, that was just a simple, fundamental commitment, and that’s my own journey.

Don’t try to imagine all the difficulties you’re going to run into, because that will really scare you away. Just be inspired by what you’re trying to achieve and focus on one step at a time. Make certain that everything you’re doing is right, measurable and aspirational, and celebrate the successes you have. Over a lifetime of working on these efforts, you develop a whole set of skills and you learn from your mistakes and you become more tolerant of others, and I think that’s really important.

If I look back at what I’ve been working on, the most significant thing I would say that we could have done differently is really focus in the beginning on understanding the needs of the communities we’re working with. There are millions of communities on the planet, and they are all driven by one fundamental truth: They want life to be better for their children. And we need to understand what it is that makes them tick, so that when we talk to them we’re actually helping them achieve that goal.

The other thing that you really need to do when you’re building an organization is to understand that you never will do it on your own. The most important thing is to be able to have the right partners, and the way you have great partnerships is you listen and you give.

And the other thing that’s really, really important is that these are long-lasting engagements that require trust, and that means that when things go bad for the communities, the partners you’re working with, you better be there for them through thick and thin.

Definitely. In our society, corporations have a unique role. And I always felt that corporations are a reflection of the people that live and work with those companies. If you look at a company and try to understand their fabric and the people that run them, you can actually create strong partnerships.

We learned from the very beginning that there are a few things that are really important to a company. Number one, the people want to be respected, admired and liked. And so, we have to figure out how do they hear that active protection of ecological systems and engaging with us in conservation was the right thing to do. And it’s actually in their self-interest, right? A company that stands up for good things attracts good employees. A company that focuses on efficiency and reducing waste saves money. And all those things result in a distinctive character that is attractive to customers, and that all leads together to profit, and to profitable enterprises that survive. Many companies were ready to do this, and we worked with those companies. Other companies were not, and we would not work with them.

I’m continuing [with] Conservation International as the chairman of the board, and I’m working really closely with the new management team, just to give them guidance. I’m really pleased with the way things are going. That’s really an important part of my life, but I’m only putting about a quarter of my time into that. The rest of the time, I’m devoting to a new venture, which goes back to the roots of CI and to engagement with indigenous peoples.

Conservation has, in the past, been used occasionally as a means of protecting nature and harming indigenous peoples. About a quarter of the Earth is still under the control or stewardship of tribal peoples, indigenous peoples and local communities. It might be more than that. And as much as 80 percent of intact ecological systems are contained within this quarter of the planet. The new organization that we have established is focusing on the intersection of social justice for these indigenous peoples and the protection of the ecological systems they control. We’re working with these communities as partners to support their effort to protect the places that are their own.

I would tell him that it is in the enlightened self-interest of this nation and his own legacy to understand that the environment, as a basic human right for every citizen, is something that he needs to embrace. Protection of the environment needs to become part of the fabric in this country. Every single person needs to be able to take a deep breath of clean air, eat food that’s grown from healthy soils, drink clean water, and have the benefit of forests and grasslands and oceans that are filled with life.

Every community on this planet is focused on the children, and children need the environment to be healthy. More and more nations and people are aware of that. Also, part of the remarkable response to President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement was this outpouring of commitment from other nations, from businesses and from communities. That’s hopeful. We are in an era where we need transformation that does not require the permission of government.