Conflict-Sensitive Conservation: WWF’s Journey from the Ground up

Date & Time
Jun 17, 2026 | 13.30 - 15.00

Participants
Chair: Hesta Groenewald, PeaceNexus Foundation (Switzerland)
Alison Harley, WWF International (United Kingdom)
Sandra Valenzula, WWF Colombia (Colombia)
Micol Martini, WWF International (United States)
Sarah Glaser, WWF United States (United States)
Preston Whitt, WWF United States (United States)
Amy Maling, WWF Myanmar (Philippines)
Colleen Devlin, WWF United States (United States)
Natalia Chan, Saferworld (United Kingdom)
Amanda Woomer, Baobab Tree Consulting (United States)

Conflict sensitivity is a cornerstone of environmental peacebuilding, underscoring the need for conservation organizations to learn and improve their work in conflict and fragile contexts. WWF has been on a holistic journey across its complex network to embed conflict sensitivity into its portfolio. This roundtable offers an opportunity to share our learning journey about why conflict sensitivity is and will continue to be vital to conservation, and how WWF has, through ground-up efforts, sought to embrace this. This roundtable will open with short remarks introducing the discussion, then a facilitated discussion will explore what it means to integrate conflict sensitivity in a globalized network, including the process for establishing and rolling out an FCAS Operating Framework and the newly launched conflict sensitivity manual and insights. A moderator will conclude by tying together the key lessons, as well as identifying key next steps on this journey. The roundtable format will bring together WWF colleagues and partners from different contexts and themes to share diverse perspectives on how tools, methodologies, and local experiences inform broader strategies for conservation in conflict-affected contexts.