Growing up on Colombia's Caribbean coast, Gabriel Pacheco began hunting American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) as a young man in the swamps of Cispata Bay. Although crocodile hunting has long been illegal in the region, residents of poor communities often had few options to earn income.

Today, not only is Pacheco protecting the species he once hunted, but through spreading the message of conservation to others, he has been able to expand economic opportunities for his g...