Indigenous and Local communities are keepers of valuable environmental knowledge accumulated over generations. This knowledge is held individually and collectively, often orally transmitted and embodied. At least 25% of the world’s land area is owned, managed, used or inhabited by these groups, and such areas are degrading less quickly than others. Yet, despite abundant empirical evidence, Indigenous and Local communities struggle to have their voices meaningfully included in environmental governance. Much more work remains to be done on the integration of Indigenous and local knowledge within nature conservation. What can communities teach us? responds to this gap and the growing calls for decolonising the conservation movement.