Our monthly funding overview on the continent

From the newsletter

Community conservation funding across Africa has surged and Tanzania is in the lead most recently. The $12 million Pamoja Tuhifadhi Bahari Yetu project, funded by the European Union, focuses on coastal ecosystem restoration and entrepreneurship. It stands out for its inclusive grant mechanism supporting civil society groups in six regions. Over 500,000 people are expected to benefit through community-led marine conservation efforts.

• In our monthly review, Liberia and Sierra Leone follow with the $4 million Gola Resilience, Empowerment, Access and Peacebuilding (GOLA-REAP) project, financed by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, targeting biodiversity conservation in the Gola Rainforest and peacebuilding across border communities.

• In Mozambique, Peace Parks Foundation has committed $5 million to Banhine National Park. The project will support wildlife conservation, promote livestock rearing, and strengthen community-tourism links over three years.

More details

• The Pamoja Tuhifadhi Bahari Yetu (Let’s Conserve Our Ocean Together) project will be implemented in six regions: Mtwara, Lindi, Coast, and Dar es Salaam in Mainland Tanzania, as well as North and South Unguja in Zanzibar. Key partners include the International Union for Conservation of Nature, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, Forum CC, and the European Union Delegation to Tanzania. 

• The EU has already issued a call for grant applications, placing a strong emphasis on local entrepreneurs. The project will support marine conservation, sustainable tourism, fisheries, and aquaculture. The strategy emphasises participatory, inclusive, and gender-sensitive approaches, ensuring that local actors, including beach management units, Shehia leaders, and women's groups, lead the interventions. Activities are intentionally designed to be labour-intensive and community-driven, creating jobs and fostering local ownership.

• Peace Parks Foundation has invested $4.6 million over three years in Mozambique’s Banhine National Park to support wildlife conservation and community livelihoods. The project includes cattle and goat breeding, seed distribution, and accommodation upgrades to promote tourism. Located in Gaza Province, the park features seasonal wetlands that attract migratory birds. Community involvement is central, with planned activities aimed at linking conservation to local economic benefits.

• Liberia and Sierra Leone, with support from the United Nations, have launched the $4 million GOLA-REAP project to conserve the transboundary Gola Rainforest and promote peace in border communities. Funded by the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund, the initiative targets 700 square kilometres of biodiversity-rich forest, home to over 300 bird species and endangered primates, including pygmy hippos, chimpanzees, and forest elephants.

• The project focuses on land access, conflict prevention, and forest management. It will train local leaders, rangers, and border officials in community-driven land mapping and border monitoring. Youth and women will be empowered to address natural resource-related conflicts. The project aims to build resilience, enhance sustainable resource use, and strengthen social cohesion across the Liberia–Sierra Leone border.

Our take

• A continental shift towards greater involvement of local communities in conservation projects is now routinely feeding through to the frontlines. But the methods still differ greatly and understanding trends in community-based conservation is pertinent to setting and implementing conservation goals. Here are the main approaches.

• Community engagement in conservation across Africa takes three main forms: protected area outreach, collaborative management, and community-based conservation. Outreach compensates for local costs from living near protected areas. 

• Collaborative management involves negotiated agreements between governments and communities. Community-based conservation grants user rights to local groups, enabling them to manage resources like forests, wildlife, and water directly, often through legal or customary recognition.