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Lorukul Friends of Wildlife, stay adjacent to Kidepo national park and perform for visitors who do local community tours.

African conservationists call for stronger partnerships with global organizations

Kigali, Rwanda – Maliasili, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting African conservation leaders, has released a comprehensive report shedding light on the significance and complexities of collaborations between worldwide conservation entities and their African-led counterparts.

The report, titled, Rooting for Change: Strengthening Local to Global Partnerships in African Conservation, was launched today at the Business of Conservation Conference in Kigali.

This study draws from extensive interviews and surveys involving over 60 personnel affiliated with numerous African civil society organizations (CSOs) operating in diverse conservation sectors and Indigenous land rights across 18 countries.

The research findings underscore the critical role played by partnerships with international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in furnishing essential resources to African CSOs. Nevertheless, these partnerships grapple with notable challenges, including power imbalances, insufficient transparency, and conflicting interests.

The report argues that partnerships need to be reformed to make them more effective, equitable, and respectful of local authority and leadership. It also provides recommendations for both NGOs and African CSOs on how to improve their collaboration and communication, such as clarifying roles and expectations, sharing credit and visibility, and building trust and mutual learning.

Resson Kantai Duff, Portfolio Funding Director at Maliasili, said: “Ultimately, the way that these partnerships are approached, structured, and maintained, needs to be collectively reimagined. There is a real opportunity here for international organizations to build trust by recognizing local capacity, bringing visibility to groups doing important work with local communities, and allowing organizations closest to the problem to set the agenda. The intention of our report is to document African conservation leaders’ experiences with these partnerships, and harness their views and recommendations for maximizing the positive potential of such partnerships. We focus on their perspectives and voices because we recognize that given existing power asymmetries it can sometimes be harder for them to be heard in global discussions, and their views are critical to any evolution of partnerships in positive ways.”

The study underscores the pivotal role African CSOs play in the triumph of global conservation objectives due to their deep-rooted connection to local contexts and enduring relationships with communities that have preserved lands across the continent for generations.

Nearly two-thirds, or 64%, of the sources in the report highlighted that the top-down approach of international organizations presents a significant obstacle. An overwhelming 82% of the respondents stressed the importance of well-defined roles in cultivating meaningful and effective partnerships.

Ewi Lamma, Environmental and Climate Justice Advocate at Forest Resources and People in Cameroon, told the report authors: “Every organization should strive for more partnerships because it elevates the organization, elevates the individuals within the organization, and it also can build the organization’s capacities to be able to broaden their scope and handle more sectors within their mission and vision.” However, she added that INGOs should “clear the atmosphere of being domineering and work as partners, as teams, and not as a boss working with a subordinate.”

Jonathan Yiah from the Sustainable Development Institute in Liberia advocated for an approach where INGOs empower local civil society groups to steer the course while providing background support.

Andrew Giahquee from the Skills and Agricultural Development Services in Liberia pointed out that empowering individuals cannot be achieved within a mere six-month or one-year timeframe. He added that the expectation that these communities would transform into experts within such a short span is unrealistic.”

John Kamanga of the South Rift Association of Land Owners in Kenya emphasized a shift away from donor-driven implementation models, advocating instead for collaborative creation of projects.

The report comes at a time when global climate and nature protection targets, such as the 30×30 goal to protect 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030, increasingly recognize the need to place Indigenous Peoples and local communities at the heart of decision-making and implementation.

Link to report: https://www.maliasili.org/rootingforchange

African conservation calls
Lorukul Friends of Wildlife, stay adjacent to Kidepo national park and perform for visitors who do local community tours.

African conservationists call for stronger partnerships with global organizations
African conservationists call for stronger partnerships with global organizations