Every year on 3 March, we celebrate World Wildlife Day (WWD) to raise awareness about the importance of wildlife and biodiversity. Since its inception in 2013, WWD has highlighted wildlife’s critical role in sustaining ecosystems, supporting livelihoods, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, as we mark WWD in 2025, themed “Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet,” it’s time to confront a hard truth: the current funding model for wildlife conservation is fundamentally flawed.  

Today, wildlife conservation relies heavily on donor funding, an unsustainable and often counterproductive model. While well-intentioned, this approach perpetuates dependency, stifles innovation, and fails to empower local communities as true stewards of their environment. Donor-funded projects are often short-term, project-based, and disconnected from the socio-economic realities of the people living alongside wildlife. This creates a cycle in which conservation is seen as an external imposition rather than a shared responsibility.  

Moreover, the lack of business modelling in wildlife economies means that conservation efforts are rarely self-sustaining. Donor funding is treated as the primary lifeline, rather than a seed to grow viable, profit-driven enterprises. This approach ignores a fundamental principle of human nature: people are driven by survival and profit. If wildlife conservation is to succeed, it must align with these motives, embedding socio-economic needs at its core.  

A business-driven approach to wildlife conservation

The solution is to reimagine wildlife conservation as a by-product of thriving businesses rather than its primary goal. Instead of relying on donations, we should focus on building “profitable wildlife-based enterprises” that meet human needs while delivering conservation benefits. This approach leverages capitalism’s profit motive as a powerful tool for change.  

For example, businesses centred on sustainable wildlife tourism, eco-friendly agriculture, or wildlife-based products can generate revenue while protecting ecosystems. When communities see tangible economic benefits from conserving wildlife, they become active participants in its protection. This creates a stick-and-carrot approach: the carrot of profit incentivises conservation, while the stick of economic loss discourages harmful practices like poaching or habitat destruction.  

To build a sustainable wildlife economy, we must first prioritise profitability. This will ensure that investments flow to wildlife enterprises that demonstrate cash flow and profitability in the short, medium, and long term. Donor funding will serve as seed capital to kickstart ventures rather than a perpetual crutch. Central to this approach is community ownership, which empowers local communities as business owners and managers to align conservation with their survival and prosperity. 

Leveraging innovative financing tools like stokvels, carbon credits, Debt-for-Nature swaps, Wildlife Conservation Bonds, and Payments for Ecosystem Services can attract investments and scale conservation efforts. 

For instance, Stokvels are traditional community-based savings and investment groups, particularly popular in South Africa. Members pool their resources and collectively invest in ventures that benefit the group. This model can be adapted to fund wildlife-based businesses, such as eco-tourism lodges, sustainable agriculture, or wildlife product enterprises. By tapping into the power of collective investment, Stokvels stand to provide a grassroots financing mechanism that is inclusive, scalable, and community-driven. 

Additionally, businesses should focus on market-driven solutions that address consumption and survival needs—such as food, housing, and medicine—while embedding conservation into their operations, ensuring that what is useful will be taken care of. This holistic strategy creates a self-sustaining system where economic success and environmental protection go hand in hand.

Aligning wildlife conservation with human nature

Humans are inherently survival—and profit-driven. By aligning wildlife conservation with these instincts, we create a self-sustaining system in which economic success and environmental protection go hand in hand. This approach not only addresses the urgent need for biodiversity conservation but also tackles poverty, unemployment, and inequality in communities dependent on wildlife resources.  

On World Wildlife Day and beyond, let’s shift the narrative from dependency to empowerment, from charity to profitability. The high-level event at the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva will be a platform to explore these innovative financial solutions. By showcasing successful business models and fostering collaboration between governments, civil society, and the private sector, we can unlock the true potential of wildlife economies.  

The time has come to move beyond traditional conservation funding and embrace a business-driven approach that invests in people and the planet. After all, what is useful will be taken care of, and what is profitable will thrive. Therefore, it remains paramount that we build a future where wildlife conservation is not a burden but a natural outcome of thriving, sustainable businesses. 

 

Dr Ndlovu is a postdoctoral research fellow and programme manager at the African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University.

This article was originally published in the Cape Times on 3 March 2025 (World Wildlife Day)