Leveraging the Wildlife Economy

The wildlife economy provides an opportunity to sustainably align conservation and development in Africa. It is, however, largely not well understood and the opportunities related to it have not been unlocked. 

This session will be divided into two parts:

• The first part will provide a detailed overview/Masterclass of the wildlife economy in Africa - what is it, its conceptual foundations in property rights, markets, bottom-up governance and adaptive management, why is it important, and how do we unlock the opportunities and address the challenges. 
• The second part will be an interactive technical session to develop an action plan/framework for the wildlife economy in the region, and to develop a Theory of Change for the wildlife economy in Africa, including as an inputs to IUCN’s process of developing a theory of change for Nature and 30x30. 

Participants will leave with a greater understanding of the wildlife economy, how to leverage it within their areas of influence to create sustainable economies in and around conservation areas, and an action plan for doing this. 

The target audience is IPLCs, local and national governments, the private sectors, and NGOs working in area-based conservation and community landscapes.