Most protected and conserved areas in Eastern and Southern Africa face a significant funding gap. There is a clear need to diversify and increase self-generated revenues and develop innovative financing mechanisms. These are the main findings and recommendations of a new IUCN study authored by Conservation Capital, “Closing the gap: Financing and resourcing of protected and conserved areas in Eastern and Southern Africa”.

The study concludes that developing diversified and sustainable revenue streams is critical for the long-term maintenance of the protected area estate in Eastern and Southern Africa and for protection of essential ecosystem services. One of the key recommendations is to understand and replicate the successful financing models that already exist in Africa.   

Following up from the launch of this publication, a series of online training events is being hosted as part of "Vital Sites: the Journey to Marseille". 

Training events in the series:

• Introduction to the financing and resourcing mechanisms (June 2020)
• Collaborative management (September 2020)
• Payment for Ecosystem Services (October 2020)
• Conservation Trust Funds (December 2020)

*The content of this article has been edited after publication, to include the comprehensive information about the training events of this series.