As world leaders fight for climate change solutions, I think it’s time to talk about a related and critical need: To give ourselves the best shot at solving the biodiversity crisis and helping the planet, we must turn the professional field of conservation from one of exclusion and privilege to one of inclusion and growth.

Wildlife populations have declined by 68% in the last three decades, and the situation is getting worse. We are in a biodiversity crisis that is as staggering and impactful as the climate crisis. As these animals go and the ecosystems unravel, the planet and the lives of our children and children to come are also impacted. We desperately need more conservationists in the fight to protect the planet’s biodiversity.

Unfortunately, there are long-standing barriers of privilege that keep far too many out of the field of conservation. I've found that the path to a conservation career is almost always through a childhood of outdoor experiences, industry connections, and the financial freedom to take on the unpaid volunteer jobs that are the on-ramp to a conservation career.

Specifically, this means growing up seeing nature and conservation as open, welcoming, and relevant. That includes spending meaningful time in nature as a child, going to a school that gives you exposure to career opportunities, and feeling comfortable because of role models in conservation who look like you or have walked a path like you. This also includes having the money and resources to live while working for free and the privilege of following your passion into a career that isn’t by any stretch lucrative.

Nonprofit leaders should work to remove the barriers of privilege to conservation science. We must support conservationists from underrepresented groups with money, networking, and connections to give them an equitable leg up and to be role models for the next generation. We must support children from underserved communities to become wildlife champions, all the way up to pursuing a career in conservation. And we must bring together like-minded individuals, organizations, institutions, and corporations to build solutions to fix the broken system.

The future of conservation is inclusion. We must diversify the conservation field if we hope to help the planet. There’s hope, and the moment is now for tackling this. These struggling conservationists, our children, and our planet deserve no less.

Read the full article about inclusion in conservation by Lynn Mento at Forbes.