Sustainable Financing and Business Planning for Protected Areas

The Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG) and the Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) held a 9 June 2005 meeting on "Sustainable Financing and Business Planning for Protected Areas".

The objectives of the meeting were to:

• learn from examples of economic valuation of biodiversity;
• explore why and how to implement a process of sustainable financing for protected areas;
• understand the linkages between protected area management and business planning; and
• discuss why to do business planning and how to use it for protected areas.

Talks included:

How Much Are Uganda's Forests Worth? by Andy Plumptre, Wildlife Conservation Society- Uganda

Sustainable Financing and Business Planning in The Greater Virunga Landscape: Case Study of Rwenzori Mountains National Park Business Plan by Ray Victurine, Wildlife Conservation Society- Conservation Finance Program

Sustainable Financing for Protected Areas in Madagascar: A Short Overview by Jean-Paul Paddack, WWF-Madagascar

Estimating Management Costs for "Site de Conservation" in Madagascar by Ray Victurine, Wildlife Conservation Society- Conservation Finance Program

A roundtable discussion was held to describe other efforts on economic valuation of biodiversity, sustainable financing and business planning for protected areas including descriptions by:

• WWF-US Large Conservation Program Management
• International Gorilla Conservation Programme's Study on The Economic Value of the Virunga and Bwindi Mountain Gorilla Protected Forests: Benefits, Costs and Their Distribution Amongst Stakeholders
• Division of Global Environment Facility Coordination (DGEF) United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP): Conservation Finance Remains a Priority of the Global Environment Facility

Please see the following meeting notes, reference materials, meeting participant list, and useful weblinks.

photo credit: USAID