Mixed Flock: Dr Poshendra Satyal

Dr Poshendra Satyal is a Senior Policy Manager at BirdLife International, with a strong interest in social justice and decolonising conservation.

Imagine yourself listening to the wonder of a dawn chorus, anywhere in the world. Birdsong flows all around you, with a range of different species adding their voice to the experience. Representing different voices on the world stage is the role of BirdLife’s Global Policy team, with individuals such as Dr Poshendra Satyal, originally from Nepal and now based in the UK, who works internationally at the forefront of this effort.

We are facing a major crisis that includes the loss of biodiversity, climate change and inequitable development. We need global efforts to address these challenges, incorporating multiple perspectives. As Poshendra states: “We need to acknowledge plurality of knowledge and to have collective efforts”. At BirdLife International, we unite 123 Partners working on the ground with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women and youth to conserve birds and all life – creating a collective that knows no borders.

“BirdLife can be recognised as an exemplary and truly global organisation of diverse representation where diverse groups are seen, heard and supported,” says Poshendra. “We can enhance the roles and rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, civil society, youth, women and all marginalised viewpoints. That’s my interest, and in any kind of advocacy position, we put these perspectives forward as well.” 

Poshendra highlights these historical imbalances in conservation, particularly the problematic nature of dominant Eurocentric and North American perspectives. It is important to recognise these issues if we are to challenge them and improve: “We need to make sure that we benefit from this kind of diverse experience, because that also enhances the collective voice, which is one of the strengths of BirdLife.”

His role in our Global Policy team means he has direct impact on global decisions that can be implemented on national and local scales. It is crucial they reflect the voices of those people affected by them – a task that inspires Poshendra: “That’s the kind of connection we are trying to make. I’m motivated in this topic, making sure there is more diversity and inclusion within the organisation, but also within the conservation sector.” His work ensures global processes connect with and respond to national and local decision-making, needs, priorities and contexts.

This need for every voice to be heard, individual differences to be recognised and viewpoints to be valued brings us back to BirdLife’s core values. “You know, one of them is ‘diverse by nature’, but we need to go beyond the statement,” he explains, then pauses to choose his next words. “How we operationalise that is a challenge!” 

He describes his approach aiming to enhance social justice and equity as “decolonising conservation” – a phrase he admits can be polarising. But it reflects the ways he breaks down this complex task into key areas. First to be interrogated is narrative: “Conservation has a very colonial kind of tendency.” Take species names that do not reflect an Indigenous Peoples’ preceding knowledge of that bird. “We can address this with recognition of different identities, cultures, histories, world views, paradigms and values – in a way, different realities.”

History can be rewritten in a way that is not necessarily truthful – for example, local communities being blamed for biodiversity losses without considering their actions in a wider context. “We acknowledge there are different historical narratives and attitudes,” explains Poshendra, “and recognise the influence of imperial systems, power relations and so on.” Respecting all views holistically is key to understanding the true drivers and mitigations of vanishing nature.

Similarly, we must take into account learnings from any source that provides them. Another of BirdLife’s values is ‘action through insight’, meaning that evidence drives our decisions, work and conservation across the globe. But with Western science holding biases that cloud our understanding, different ways of learning are no less vital. “Decolonising knowledge is about valuing and incorporating local knowledge,” Poshendra explains. “This includes community wisdom, lived experience, institutional memories, and citizen science.”

Emblematic of Mixed Flock, recognising a diverse set of voices is another critical task, and one that goes hand-in-hand with decolonising practices. “How can we ensure full and effective participation of a variety of stakeholders, people from local communities and other underrepresented groups, in conservation planning and actions?” Poshendra asks. “By making sure we have a better representation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, marginalised groups in all kinds of decision-making structures and processes.”

But one approach stands out as the most pressing. “I think the most important aspect of decolonising conservation is funding, because so far, direct access for people in local communities is quite limited,” Poshendra explains grimly. In an ever-changing landscape where the environment has not received sufficient investment outright, it is important not to disregard the people hit hardest by the climate and biodiversity crisis. This includes tackling inequitable development, so the gaps between those with sufficient funding and those without don’t grow. 

He emphasises the well-studied link between poverty and nature loss, stating “we can provide direct access to funding for Indigenous and marginalised groups so that, besides the boost to nature, we can also provide tangible benefits in terms of education, health, socioeconomic food security and more.” 

BirdLife’s mantra is to conserve birds and all life across our planet, and this is why we unite the power of many in our mixed flock of Partners and communities. As Poshendra explains, “we have a unique position and place because of our governance and partnership model.”

This is one of our key strengths and one of the aspects of the BirdLife Partnership that makes us so effective. Ensuring our work is rooted in our local-to-global approach brings immense benefits. “Many conservation projects are successful because they involve relevant stakeholders from the planning and design stages through to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.” Poshendra states. “They are likely to be more successful and more sustainable in the long run, as well.” 

He cites examples of Partners integrating local knowledge and voices into their planning models and practices. For example, American Bird Conservancy – one of our Partners in the USA – relies on an Indigenous Kinship circle in its management of grasslands. These efforts help address those historical imbalances, because local communities have more knowledge and experience of their places than any other people.  

Another example demonstrates the pluralities of knowledge coming together to reveal the full picture. “We can do many things from satellite monitoring of sites, particularly where we are working on forest governance,” Poshendra explains. “We found that some of the things captured by satellite were not necessarily the case on the ground! It just goes to show the importance of community-based monitoring.” 

It is only by embracing these distinct perspectives, knowledge bases and voices that we have gained a holistic view of our conservation work. That is why BirdLife combines the power of many into one voice for nature – but not in a way that drowns out individual voices. As we referenced in our previous Mixed Flock interview, there’s an old saying that goes ‘birds of a feather flock together’. Poshendra has a different take: “you can be birds of different feathers, but you can still fly and work together!” 

That is exactly what BirdLife is all about. As we grapple with the major challenges brought about by the climate and biodiversity crisis, there is no one perspective or one worldview. We can’t solve these problems alone – as Poshendra states, “we need to acknowledge the plurality of knowledge from these worldviews, and these kinds of knowledge diversity. We need perspectives and contributions from all areas, from intergenerational knowledge, the possibility of youth, traditions and cultures from everywhere.”