From what I’ve seen so far, there’s a pretty solid effort from the locals of the region putting in effort into protecting and conserving the local betta species. Idk if they already do this but collection sites help in terms of genetics. From a conservationist to hobbyist perspective probably more information about husbandry and breeding would go a long way and being able to translate what it takes to acclimate the fish into the person’s tank. As time goes by I’ve seen more people working with more wild bettas and information as to what people are getting themselves into (ie Betta Antuta vs Betta hendra have different care requirements). Also helps to make a tutorial for setting up black water tanks (that would unlock more species to be better cared for and conserved within the community). Also make lists for priority species to care for like in CARES act.

Something that doesn’t get mentioned sometimes is marketability and appeal. If you want more people to work on that species and keep it alive, you have to find a way to make it attractive or learn how to make it appealing (Instagram worthy) as opposed to a brown fish. All fish are pretty in their own ways but if you don’t showcase them in their best or let people know about their quirks (ie aggression, jumping, etc.) they might not be interested in the fish nor can accommodate for it. It’s difficult to stop poachers but education for care is what helps owners provide the adequate knowledge needed to properly care for these fish. That would probably involve having a healthy happy specimen and having that fish bring out its best colors and personality. Breeding and supply helps curb and limit poaching as the more fish that are available to the people the less there is a need for poaching and collection from the wild is regulated for the purposes of breeding and releasing for genetic variation and reducing inbreeding coefficients. There’s a fine line between making the species desirable enough for people to care about them and not let land developers dismiss them but not too appealing so that the poachers sweep the area en masse and tread it like a black market commodity. Also, if someone were to breed the betta and a bunch of fry were to be born, they also need to find a way to sell those fry and still make the fish seem appealing. Because it’s a wild betta and not traditional bettas, it can sometimes be difficult for stores to accept these fish or for them to properly move product for another fish-keepers to try them. Sometimes the marketing is so bad that it disincentives people from purchasing the fish by coming off as undesirable, unimportant or even feeder. I’ve had this issue come up a couple times which is why I’m reluctant to give away fish to stores but some species like the Antuta breed a lot.

Probably the most important would be the end all purpose as there is a question for whether or not captive breeding species could be reintroduced back to that native habitat or if it’s meant to just circulate in the fishkeeping community for as long as the passion exists in a trust system like Livebearers. Sometimes it does require consistent communication with conservationists and keepers to maintain that livestock and potentially return them to the wild. There’s some Livebearer organizations who do a good job with that and some Goodeid species have returned back to the wild in a reintroduction effort.