Securing landscapes and building a robust nature-based economy.
Securing landscapes and building robust local institutions and thriving nature-based economies
Conserve builds capacity of local institutions to ensure highly effective long-term management of concession areas and community conservancies.
Our aim is to demonstrate the significant value of conservation as a sustainable land use in rural areas.
Goals
Secure and manage key clusters of at-risk protected areas
Enhance their socio-political value within the context of Africa’s development goals
Promote capacity building and transfer of skills to local communities
Harness these functioning ecosystems for the benefit of people
Stimulate local economic activity linked to conservation
Contribute to the Campaign for Nature’s 30x30 Vision by safeguarding existing protected areas vulnerable to being lost
Leveraging existing strengths
Concessions are uniquely placed for truly inclusive conservation in Africa:
Designed for private sector management
Structured for business purposes, including sustainable utilisation and revenue retention
Generally available over long tenure
Often inhabited by people and suited as incubators for inclusive conservation models
Our unique model
Pathway to Project Success
Ultimately improve financial sustainability, reduce and contain anthropogenic pressures, secure wildlife populations & secure enduring ecosystems function at a landscape scale.
Monitoring and evaluation of change and impacts of management interventions and status & trajectory of key wildlife populations, embracing and adaptive management approach.
Create enabling conditions to promote local economic activity that is compatible with conservation as a form of land use. This includes tourism plus local enterprise development.
Ongoing community engagement to build trust, understand needs and concerns, provide a voice in decision making, build emotional attachment to the PA & empower as equity stakeholders in local economic activity.
Habitat and wildlife management that embraces heterogeneity and change over time to maintain biodiversity & productivity of the ecological system.
Investment into law enforcement premised on the policing doctrine that upholds human rights, de-escalates conflict & promotes regional stability & deters & denies illegal activity in the protected area.
Development of on-the-ground infrastructure (e.g. builders, roads, airstrips) and acquisition of assets (e.g. vehicles, radios) necessary to achieve high levels of management effectiveness.
Rigorous financial controls and robust administrative systems implemented for total transparency & accountability.
Skilled and committed on-the-ground management team appointed, with mentoring of indigenous peoples.
Infusion of funding sufficient to achieve high levels of management effectiveness whilst leveraging economics of scale.
In-country legal entity established with government and community representation on the Board. Board to provide project oversight & governance.
Outcomes
Ecosystem resilience and conservation-led economic development
Job creation and benefits to resource-poor households such as food security and water stress relief
Reduced human-wildlife conflict
Improved rural development in line with conservation goals
Diversified and inclusive funding model that prioritises financial sustainability, local economic activity and social justice
Greatly reduced poaching and illegal activities
Local human capital development and skills transfer
Ecosystem-based adaption to climate change
The long view
Everything we do builds towards conservation being embraced both socially and politically as a desirable and relevant land use. Once this is achieved, we can exit as all the necessary conditions for future success are securely in place and in the care of Africa’s true custodians, her indigenous people.
