Management of Protected Areas

Workstream of the Climate Change, Livelihoods, Natural Resources Management working group

Africa is immensely rich in biodiversity accounting for almost a quarter of the world’s biodiversity. The continent is home to the largest intact assemblages of large mammals on earth, which sometimes roam freely in many countries.

The conservation of biological diversity in Africa is a priority for several reasons:

• It is a unique natural heritage that needs to be managed sustainably for the future. Many populations depend on it and it is closely linked to their survival.
• It is also clear that biological diversity is being progressively degraded as a result of numerous pressures, such as poaching, agricultural encroachment, pressure on extractive resources, infrastructure development, poor governance, conflict of interest.

Considering several aspects of governance demonstrates that protected areas could be an effective component of biodiversity management and they provide greater benefits in terms of ecosystem services than smaller and more disturbed areas, including those needed to combat climate change.

This workstream addresses issues related to

1. The use of decision support tools for the effective management of protected areas
2. Techniques for collaboration and support of local populations to national parks (pro-conservation agricultural techniques) and their impact on the promotion of rural development
3. The sustainable development of biodiversity with a focus on non-timber forest products and support of agroforestry chains and their socio-economic impacts on target groups such as women and youth.

At the end of 2021, the leaders of this working group will contribute to the development of the technical tools necessary for better management and governance of protected areas in their respective countries. They will also present a model for concerted management of protected areas, their biodiversity and their impacts on improving the living conditions of local populations.

Contacts

• Mayen Bertille (mayen@giz.de) – Côte d’Ivoire/Liberia
  PAPFor (EU)-TGS -FL, Côte d’Ivoire; Programme d’appui pour la préservation des écosystèmes forestiers en Afrique de l’ouest & Projet de Conservation du paysage prioritaire Taï-Grebo-Sapo, Côte d’Ivoire et au Liberia
• Tchigankong Désiré (desire.tchigankong@giz.de) — speaker of the Climate Livelihood and Natural Resources Management working group

We are looking forward to your participation and contribution!

Speaker: Désiré Tchigankong

Co-speaker: Sven Schuppener
Tandem partners: Kirsten Probst, Andreas Müller