Conservation Enterprise Development in Africa

On 22 March 2005, a meeting on "Conservation Enterprise Development in Africa: What Works?"  was organized by the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group. 

The objectives of the meeting were to:

• To understand the different types of conservation enterprises in Africa;
• To learn lessons about why some conservation enterprises succeed and others fail;
• To examine opportunities to scale up current conservation enterprise activities; and
• To discuss current trends and future plans for conservation enterprise development.

Presentations on experiences with conservation enterprises were given by:

International Finance Corporation

USAID Global Development Alliance

World Bank Development Marketplace

Verde Ventures

The roundtable discussion included contributions from:

African Wildlife Foundation, Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, Chemonics International Inc., Conservation International, Ecoagriculture Partners, EnterpriseWorks, Forest Trends, Global Environment Facility, Innovative Resources Management, International Resources Group Limited, PACT International., TechnoServe, The Nature Conservancy, United Nations Development Programme, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Forest Service, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Resources Institute, and World Wildlife Fund.

Please see the notes from the meeting and following materials, and feel free to send any questions or share additional information on conservation enterprises.   Please use the discussion function on the website or contact ABCG directly by email at nancy.gelman@wwfus.org

Photo credit: (c) L.Lartigue, USAID