Sustainable tourism enterprises link livelihoods and conservation.

Many African economies depend on tourists flocking to iconic national parks  and reserves to see the planet’s most stunning wildlife in its natural habitat. Safeguarding these irreplaceable living attractions — like elephants and rhinos threatened by poaching — has been a priority for many governments across the continent.

In turn, wildlife-based tourism generates millions in revenues that fund the authorities managing protected areas. At the local level, CHILDREN CONSERVATIONISTS PROGRAMME develops partnerships with tourism enterprises like lodges and tour companies that employ people living near, or in, these wildlife-rich zones, allowing the people who live closest to wildlife to reap the benefits.

Making communities realize the benefits of conserving wildlife is one of our biggest challenges. Large mammals like elephants and lions present a significant danger when they venture into homesteads or farms, some of which encroach on wildlife habitat. Many people are then pushed to kill wildlife to protect their land, while others hunt for bush meat or turn to poaching and wildlife trafficking to earn an income.

CCP incentivizes communities to conserve wildlife via sustainable tourism opportunities.

• Improving economic returns from eco-lodges on communal land.
  In exchange for a commitment from communities to adopt sustainable land-use practices, CCP assists land rich, cash poor communities in developing economically lucrative, wildlife-friendly enterprises, such as eco-lodges.

Land and Habitat Protection

By working across large landscapes that span borders, CCP supports critically important biodiversity and offers people economic opportunities. We have invested in community-based conservation to protect safe havens for wildlife while simultaneously improving human well-being We believe in empowering communities to engage in sustainable natural resource management. Our programs aim to incentivize conservation through conservation enterprises such as sustainable agriculture and ecotourism development to create benefits for generation to come

• Close partnerships with protected area authorities.
  CCP supports protected areas in business and tourism planning to enable them to generate enough income to support the management of their protected areas and contribute to the local and national economy. In the interest of making longer-term investments and obtaining joint decision making with partnering protected area authorities, CCP also engages in co-management agreements with authorities. This approach to protected area management allows CCP to provide long-term financial and technical support, allows for a flexible structure that can include additional stakeholders, like neighboring communities, and opens the door for increased financing opportunities. In addition to supporting protected areas, CCP in the near future will work on expanding key protected areas. Expansions provide more habitat for threatened species, supports wildlife-based tourism economy and helps prevent human-wildlife conflict.
• Conservation planning effectively meets the needs of competing for land uses.
  CCP takes a holistic approach in general land management considering ecological values and trends, human population dynamics, infrastructural needs, land tenure, policy framework, climate change, current and projected land use, and natural resource management. CCP collaborates with local communities and protected area authorities to design, develop, and implement plans for protected area management, tourism development, climate change mitigation and adaptation, species management, micro-and macro-level planning, and ecosystem management.
• Working with communities to protect the lands and wildlife around them.
  To reduce habitat loss, CCP provides livelihood alternatives to communities living in Africa’s critical landscapes. From training farmers in sustainable agriculture to developing beekeeping enterprises and beyond, CCP is working with communities to ensure their needs are met without detrimental effects to land. We are also working directly with communities to create community conservation areas. Serving as a complement to state-owned protected areas, conservancies expand land under conservation protection, provide additional wildlife habitat, and diversify land management to provide a range of habitat types that support a broader diversity of wildlife and ecosystems.