Elijah Toirai is the Senior Director for IPLC Regional Engagement and NCS Partnerships for Africa, at Conservation International. He leads efforts to scale high-integrity nature markets that ensure fair and transparent value flows to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPs & LCs). He works at the intersection of policy, investment, and community-driven conservation, shaping market frameworks that protect nature for people, not from people while advancing Africa’s leadership in the nature and climate economy.
At BCC 2026, Elijah will share insights on the governance of emerging nature markets and present the Good Faith Negotiations Tool, designed to support more equitable, culturally grounded negotiations between communities, investors, governments, and conservation actors. His work champions nature-positive development models that align conservation, livelihoods, and long-term economic opportunity across the continent.