In July 2025, the Chocó Alliance organized a three-day workshop in Quito focused on strengthening security protocols for conservation organizations working in the Chocó region of north-west Ecuador. It was facilitated by Open Briefing, an international nonprofit organization that provides security, risk management, and wellbeing support to civil society organizations, activists, and foundations around the world.

The workshop brought together representatives from the Alliance’s member NGOs to share experiences, identify risks, and collaboratively design strategies to better protect both conservation staff and the ecosystems they work to safeguard. A key outcome of the workshop was the collective mapping and prioritization of threats affecting conservation organizations. 

Participants identified several major risk areas, including physical and psychological threats against staff, criminalization and defamation campaigns targeting environmental organizations, operational risks in remote protected areas, and challenges related to water safety, transportation, and staff wellbeing. Through joint analysis, threats to conservation personnel emerged as the highest priority, reflecting the realities faced by environmental defenders in the Chocó region.

The organizations developed a set of security protocols tailored to the realities of different conservation areas, strengthening legal and psychological support for staff, improving communication systems among member organizations, and establishing specialized working groups to address different types of risk. Additional priorities include improving first-aid capacity in reserves, ensuring access to safe drinking water in field stations, strengthening emotional wellbeing support for staff working in remote areas, and improving transport safety for travel to conservation sites.

Beyond the specific tools and protocols developed, the workshop also strengthened relationships among Alliance members. By sharing strategies and experiences from their conservation work, participants reinforced a sense of collective responsibility and mutual support—an essential foundation for addressing complex environmental and security challenges across the region.

About Open Briefing
Open Briefing specializes in helping organizations operating in challenging environments strengthen their security practices through training, advisory services, and practical tools. Their participatory methodology focuses on building local capacity and ensuring that security strategies are tailored to the real needs and contexts of the organizations they support.

The workshop demonstrated how collaboration, shared knowledge, and strategic planning can help conservation organizations better navigate risks while continuing their vital work protecting one of the world’s most biodiverse regions.