Letter from the CEO

Tying Conservation to Progress

When it comes down to a competition for Africa’s natural resources, between people and wildlife, people will win. Dams, roads, and railways will be built. Cities will expand. Extractive industries will continue to mine and drill. The challenge for Africa is recognizing our responsibility to steward our rich natural heritage even as we embrace growth.

When people aren’t at the center of conservation solutions, protecting wildlife and their habitats becomes irrelevant, or worse, a source of conflict. Conservation competes with growth. People become alienated from the values of coexistence. This is deeply ironic given that Africa’s cultures and traditions–our very identities–are grounded in our relationship with the natural world. How do we reconcile this? By partnering with leaders and communities across Africa to define a new vision of conservation. One that ties conservation to progress for people.

AWF’s work is not just about conserving nature—it is about transforming lives and futures. We help governments, businesses, and communities balance the needs of people and the needs of wildlife. You will see examples of what that looks like in the “Scaling Action” sections of this report. There, we share stories of how we are working to link conservation to people’s aspirations and collective dreams of a better future. That can be as complex as designing a regional green growth
strategy for the Rwandan government or as hands-on as helping a local entrepreneur in Zimbabwean broommaker develop an effective marketing plan for his business. The situations are diverse, but they share a common denominator. In everything we do, we emphasize creating opportunity for people as part of building a future for Africa where people and wildlife thrive.

As part of my job, I have the privilege of representing AWF across the world. As I have traveled across the continent this year, two things have become very clear. The first is that when conservation is tied to sustainable development, Africans understand its value. We understand the need to prioritize coexistence, not competition, with wildlife.

The second is that African leadership–at all levels– plays a critical role in shaping what coexistence looks like. This is because ultimately, it is Africa’s laws and policies, our local councils and national governments, our businesses and investors, and our voters and consumers who must choose how we live with wildlife. This is what we seek to influence and shape.

I am extraordinarily proud of what AWF was able to achieve this year and grateful to all you who are on this journey with us. I invite you to take a few minutes to explore this report and learn more about how we are realizing our vision of an Africa where sustainable development includes thriving wildlife and wild lands as a cultural and economic asset for Africa’s–and the world’s–future generations.

Asante sana

Kaddu Sebunya
AWF Chief Executive Officer

Our Integrated Strategies

AWF's standing as Africa’s conservation NGO provides us unique trust and access in equipping African governments, institutions, businesses, and communities with the insights, tools, and support needed to balance the needs of wildlife and people across entire landscapes. To get there, we link conservation to development through three mutually reinforcing strategies.

Leading for Wildlife

We empower people across all
sectors of society and at all levels of leadership—continental, national, regional, and local—to create and be part of growth that recognizes the value of nature and nature’s ecosystem services.

Living with Wildlife

We help people living in rural communities safely coexist with wildlife, receive and manage revenue from conservation activities, prosper from nature-friendly business development and entrepreneurial enterprises, and increase agricultural yields through climate-smart and sustainable farming techniques.

Caring for Wildlife

We shape and influence government policies for the protection of key species, strengthen wildlife management, and combat illegal wildlife trafficking through the detection, deterrence, investigation, and prosecution of wildlife crime.

In the 14 landscapes where AWF has field programs, less than half the land was under protected and conserved status in 2024.

Working inside parks and other conservation areas is important, but it is not enough. Wildlife and people depend on healthy ecosystems that cross human boundaries. For this reason, our work focuses as much on what happens outside official protected and conserved areas as what happens within.

What Makes Us Unique

AWF drives transformative change in Africa through strategies that link conservation to sustainable economic development.

We emphasize African leadership—and responsibility—in making choices that protect our natural heritage. And we recognize the importance of partnership with a global community that shares our goal of building a future where people and wildlife thrive.

Our approach is grounded in the belief that when people value nature, it becomes part of how they assess opportunity and how they envision growth. We engage people across society to understand the contributions nature and wildlife make to Africans’ lives and the importance Africa’s ecosystems hold for Africa and the world.

RWANDA: NYIRAMAHORO MARIE CHANTAL, A RESIDENT OF GAHURA VILLAGE IN KINIGI, RWANDA, PARTICIPATES IN A TRAINING ON HYGIENE AND SANITATION. THE TRAINING IS PART OF A SOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT TO HELP RESIDENTS RELOCATE TO MODERN HOUSING WITH UPGRADED LIVING CONDITIONS, INCLUDING INDOOR PLUMBING. STRATEGIC LAND USE PLANNING IS MAKING ROOM FOR IMPROVED HOUSING FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES LIVING NEAR VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK WHILE INCREASING HABITAT FOR GORILLAS. © SPRUIK AGENCY

It Starts with a Plan

These plans map wildlife corridors and buffer zones between protected areas and private or community land, as well as areas best suited for infrastructure, livelihood development, and agriculture. This helps everyone—local communities, government planners, businesses, and wildlife authorities—make long-term decisions that allow people to prosper while conserving the ecological integrity of the landscape.

RWANDA: PLANS TO CREATE A LAND BUFFER BETWEEN RESTORED MOUNTAIN GORILLA HABITAT AND FARMLAND ARE PROJECTED TO REDUCE HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT BY UP TO 80%.
© SPRUIK AGENCY

Applying Our Approach: Rwanda

The recovery of the mountain gorilla population in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park over the past three decades is one of the world’s great conservation success stories, but it’s creating new challenges for Rwanda. The mountain gorilla population is outgrowing the park, leading to increased human-wildlife conflict and fighting between gorilla troops.

In response, the Rwandan government turned to AWF to develop a comprehensive master plan for the region that increases critical habitat for gorillas while driving green growth, better living conditions for people, and resilience to climate change for communities around the park.

AWF is currently implementing a multi-year pilot project designed as a proof of concept for the master plan. The pilot includes increasing gorilla habitat for the park, creating opportunities for nature-based economic development, and ensuring that international human rights standards are at the center of all community engagements.

Wildlife in 2024

KENYA: TWO GIRAFFES CROSS A ROAD CUTTING THROUGH TSAVO EAST NATIONAL PARK.

Wildlife doesn’t recognize human boundaries, and neither does nature. Parks and other protected areas play important roles as anchors of conservation. But by themselves they can only conserve some habitats, not full ecosystems, which extend past protected area borders.

We call the mosaic of lands—public, private, and community-owned—that together make up larger ecosystems “conservation landscapes.” Wildlife corridors and dispersal areas across these landscapes link protected areas and are vital to conserving species like elephants, lions, and rhinos.

Currently, we are monitoring 45 populations of priority wildlife species across 13 landscapes, analyzing field and other data to determine threats facing each population. Populations were chosen because their viability provides good indications of overall ecosystem health and wildlife security.

KENYA: HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT IS ONE OF THE MOST PRESSING CONSERVATION CHALLENGES IN AFRICA, IN PART DUE TO THE EXPANSION OF FARMLAND AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS NEAR PROTECTED AREAS AND GAME RESERVES. THE KILLING OF LIVESTOCK BY PREDATORS SUCH AS LIONS PLACES A BURDEN ON ALREADY IMPOVERISHED RURAL HOUSEHOLDS AND CAN LEAD TO RETALIATORY KILLINGS. © BILLY DODSON

Where AWF has human-wildlife conflict mitigation projects, human-wildlife conflict
has decreased by 68%.

ETHIOPIA: AWF IS WORKING WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF ETHIOPIA ON STRATEGIES TO CONSERVE THE VULNERABLE WALIA IBEX, A NATIONAL SYMBOL FOUND ONLY IN THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS. © AWF/BELAYNEH ABEBE

We play a key role in shaping wildlife policies by helping governments develop national species action plans and recovery strategies. This year, we assisted the Kenya Wildlife Service with a five-year Species Recovery and Action Plan for Giraffes and supported the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority in developing a plan for the vulnerable Walia ibex. AWF staff participate in Kenya’s National Rhino Management Committee and are leading the protection enforcement group for Zimbabwe’s National Elephant Strategy, offering expertise to improve wildlife management.

On the ground, we are tackling one of the greatest threats to wildlife and people in Africa—human wildlife conflict. Conflict is being exacerbated by climate change, competition for scarce resources like fresh water, and people’s expansion into traditional wildlife areas. To address this, we focus on helping communities successfully coexist with wildlife.

Sometimes the solutions seem simple, but for farmers trying to protect crops, women trying to avoid deadly interactions when getting water, or herders worried about attacks on livestock, these solutions are lifesavers.

Recent examples include work in Kenya, supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. There, beehive fences are used to deter elephants from raiding crops, and separate water sources for wildlife and people (and their livestock) reduce the potential for dangerous interactions. In Mbire, Zimbabwe, we are improving enclosures for livestock to prevent predator attacks and providing the community with information on safe ways of coexisting with predators.

AWF has identified 42 biologically and ecologically important landscapes across sub-Saharan Africa. We are monitoring 45 wildlife populations in 13 of them.

Fellow Spotlight

DOUGLAS NJERI KAMARU

University of Wyoming, 2024 Charlotte Fellow
Research: Lion populations in Kenya’s Tsavo Conservation Area

Lions are a keystone species whose well-being indicates the relative health of an ecosystem. But lion population density in the Tsavo Conservation Area, one of four remaining lion strongholds in East Africa, is only a quarter of what researchers think it could be. Charlotte Fellow Douglas Kamaru wants to know why. His research examines the impacts of prey loss, human-wildlife conflict, climate change, and land degradation on predators. Data received from lions collared in the Tsavo Conservation Area with support from Simply Southern is giving him insight into lion movements and will inform conservation strategies such as land use planning, wildlife management, and human-wildlife conflict mitigation efforts.

SCALING ACTION

TANZANIA: CLIMATE-SMART TERRACE FARMING IN KILOMBERO VALLEY. KILOMBERO IS PART OF AN AGRICULTURAL CORRIDOR THAT PRODUCES MORE THAN HALF OF ALL FOOD GROWN IN TANZANIA. © JACKLINE KYARUZI

Amplifying Voices
for Wildlife

THE POWER OF NETWORKS & PARTNERSHIPS

We are catalyzers and conveners. We use this power to advise and mobilize decision-makers at all levels to make conservation a key part of Africa’s growth strategies. This includes connecting and empowering networks of youth, civil society, protected area directors, and other African institutions to drive change.

As trusted partners, we ensure these voices are heard from local to national and continental levels, bringing conservation to the table with everyone from community stakeholders to heads of state across Africa and around the world.

TANZANIA: THE ANNUAL GREAT MIGRATION IS THE LARGEST OVERLAND MIGRATION IN THE WORLD, WITH WILDEBEEST, ZEBRAS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE TRAVELING 800 KILOMETERS OR MORE ACROSS KENYA AND TANZANIA. AWF'S LANDSCAPE APPROACH HELPS TO SECURE ESSENTIAL CORRIDORS BETWEEN PROTECTED AREAS TO ENSURE WILDLIFE CAN MIGRATE SAFELY

Over the past two years, AWF has been instrumental in establishing and supporting networks of conservation power players, including the Africa Protected Area Directors, a group representing leadership of Africa’s parks and other official protected and conserved areas. Another network is the African CSOs Biodiversity Alliance, which provides a platform for Indigenous and local community organizations to collectively advocate for policies integrating conservation and sustainable development. We helped to found both networks and provide strategic and operational support. This year marks a milestone for the Alliance, as it is now registered as an independent Kenya-based NGO.

An essential component of scaling impact is convening these power players and other decision-makers to drive progress towards meeting global biodiversity targets. For example, in March we brought together the Africa Protected Area Directors and other stakeholders to forge agreement on the importance of acknowledging integrated landscape management and community conservation areas in protected area conservation strategies. This agreement was an important recognition of the need for collaborative conservation solutions that include land and people outside of protected area boundaries.

ZIMBABWE: MEMBERS OF THE AFRICA PROTECTED AREA DIRECTORS (APAD) NETWORK AT THE SECOND APAD CONFERENCE IN VICTORIA FALLS, MARCH 2024. © AWF

We also build and expand partnerships to bring diverse perspectives to decision-making tables. Achievements this year include:

Creating formal collaborations for the Africa Protected Area Directors network with the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, WWF on climate change, the Campaign for Nature and Sustainable Finance Coalition on conservation finance, and the IUCN on Other Effective Area Based Conservation Measures.
Contributing to the African Union’s African Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which addresses continental biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.
Supporting the establishment of the African Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Alliance, a vehicle for increasing representation of marginalized groups in policy decisions.

Outside Africa, as part of our work with the United States government, we brought African-led conservation approaches and perspectives to the design process for a new funding vehicle for conservation, the US Foundation for International Conservation. We are expanding our strategic partnership with the European Union for delivering NaturAfrica programming in landscapes across the continent. And, at the global level, we continue our support of inclusive and unified African representation at negotiations such as the Biodiversity COP and the Climate COP.

Defining Nature as a Driver of Economic Growth

THE POWER OF NETWORKS & PARTNERSHIPS

In Zimbabwe’s Muzarabani District, located 290 kilometers northeast of the capital of Harare, AWF-supported enterprise programs have empowered women and young people like 29-year old Philmon Mativenga.

In November 2023, Mativenga was one of 120 people who participated in a training to develop and improve small businesses based on non-timber forest products. He makes brooms utilizing native ilala palms, which he sells at Harare’s biggest market, Mbare.

ZIMBABWE: PHILMON MATIVENGA MAKES UP TO 2,000 BROOMS PER MONTH FROM ILALA PALMS, EARNING AROUND US$800 WHEN DEMAND IS HIGH. © AWF

Biodiversity economies use nature and wildlife—plants and animals—as assets to create economic value that aligns with conservation objectives and contributes to sustainable development.

“The AWF training provided powerful insights on how I can make my business unique with a focus on marketing, record keeping, business principles, ethics, and business proposal writing,” Mativenga reflected. “We are currently in the process of setting up a formalized group to advance our ventures using the knowledge from the training.”

Mativenga is part of Zimbabwe’s biodiversity economy. With our assistance, the country has completed a systematic analysis to demonstrate how nature is already part of the economy and how it can be the backbone of a powerful sector of economic growth. The country’s biodiversity economy—valued at more than US$2 billion as of 2022—includes ecotourism but extends to sustainable activities such as fisheries, forestry, and non-timber forest products, including Mativenga’s ilala palm brooms.

An important part of defining biodiversity as part of an economic sector is linking nature-based products to sustainable value chains that generate investment and economic scale. Zimbabwe is already leveraging the analysis to guide carbon sequestration valuation in forestry planning. Our partnership with First Capital Bank Holdings, a diversified financial services group with operations in Zimbabwe and Botswana, provides the foundation for private sector investments required to implement the plan.

The World Bank’s flagship Global Wildlife Program, funded by the Global Environment Facility, the largest funder of biodiversity conservation in the world, has recognized the Zimbabwe Biodiversity Economy Report as a best practice for other countries. Currently, we are working with Sierra Leone on a similar analysis. While a final report is still being drafted, government agencies and leaders, including Sierra Leone’s recently elected Minister of the Environment and Climate, have taken notice. Other countries interested in working with us to define national biodiversity economies include Cameroon, Botswana and Mozambique.

ZIMBABWE: PHILMON MATIVENGA MAKES UP TO 2,000 BROOMS PER MONTH FROM ILALA PALMS, EARNING AROUND US$800 WHEN DEMAND IS HIGH.
© AWF

Our approach to building biodiversity economies isn’t always national. A landscape-level example is our groundbreaking work with the government of Rwanda. That work is being guided by the comprehensive master plan we are developing, which fully integrates conservation into green growth. It is so compelling that the World Bank is investing US$60 million with the Rwandan government through the Volcanoes Community Resilience Project for Rwanda.

Along with ecotourism connected to mountain gorilla trekking and the restoration and expansion of Volcanoes National Park, the master plan includes strategies that will positively impact watershed management, food production, the service sector, and community resilience. For households in the landscape, it means a projected 35% increase in income.

At the community level, this year we celebrated the transition of Tanzania’s Manyara Ranch to full community management. The ranch, with AWF support, has found balance as both a working cattle ranch and a conservation area in the middle of an important wildlife corridor between two national parks. Day-to-day leadership by the local Manyara Ranch Management Trust began auspiciously in July 2024 with the announcement of an ecotourism investment of US$8.2 million from Sea and Bush Limited.

Along with ecotourism connected to mountain gorilla trekking and the restoration and expansion of Volcanoes National Park, the master plan includes strategies that will positively impact watershed management, food production, the service sector, and community resilience. For households in the landscape, it means a projected 35% increase in income.

We build biodiversity economies through sustainable livelihoods, local enterprise and value chain development, and entrepreneurial training, with an emphasis on women and youth.

Creating Pathways
for Leadership

A CASE STUDY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

Africa’s multi-billion-dollar illegal wildlife trafficking network uses transit hubs such as the Port of Matadi, the principal port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as strategic cogs in their complex operations. At the port, Inspector Thomas Bile Bekoka coordinates ship docking, documents goods carried by each ship, and inspects cargo as it is loaded. He was largely unaware of the growing impact of wildlife trafficking moving through the port—or his country’s laws to combat the illegal wildlife trade.

That changed when Bekoka attended the Wildlife Investigation & Emerging Crimes program, an AWF training program funded by the US State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Targeted to police officers, prosecutors, customs officers, and investigators, it is designed to help decision-makers across the law enforcement spectrum better understand and apply wildlife protection laws. It comes at a time when considerable global attention is on the DRC’s mineral and forest resources and foreign investments are flowing into roads, railways, and other infrastructure projects.

DRC: THE MATADI SEAPORT’S STRATEGIC LOCATION ALONG THE CONGO RIVER AND ACCESS TO
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING LANES MAKE IT A CRITICAL NODE IN A TRANSNATIONAL, MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING NETWORK. © GUENTER GUNI

DRC: INSPECTOR THOMAS BILE BEKOKA TAKES NOTES AT A WILDLIFE INVESTIGATION & EMERGING CRIMES TRAINING IN MATADI. © AWF

“I didn’t know that wildlife species are protected even outside their natural habitats,” Bekoka said, acknowledging that the program equipped him with new knowledge and skills to comb at illegal wildlife trafficking. Learning how traffickers change their concealment methods daily motivated him to be more vigilant in his daily searches.

Recently, a team of police officers who participated in the program seized 20 kilograms of pangolin scales and rescued three sitatunga antelopes at Kinshasa markets. They also arrested three traffickers, whose cases are now before the courts. “For our first field operation, it was emotional but rewarding,” said Berthold Ofutanya, the unit commander. “We’re developing the skills needed to make a real impact in fighting wildlife trafficking.”

The Wildlife Investigation & Emerging Crimes program is part of a strategically designed set of integrated services, interventions, advocacy, and policy efforts AWF has developed to detect, deter, investigate, and prosecute wildlife crime.

Currently, we are applying our counter wildlife trafficking approach in five countries: the DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition to training programs for law enforcement and the judiciary, we conduct wildlife policy and legislative analyses, provide court monitoring, and train and equip canine detection and deterrence teams.

DRC: THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR AT THE HIGH COURT OF GOMBE SWEARS IN SEVEN NEW JUDICIAL POLICE OFFICERS WITH THE INSTITUT CONGOLAIS POUR LA CONSERVATION DE LA NATURE, THE DRC’S WILDLIFE AUTHORITY, ON APRIL 27, 2024, IN KINSHASA FOLLOWING THEIR COMPLETION OF AWF’S WILDLIFE JUDICIAL AND PROSECUTORIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. © AWF

DRC: 2024 GRADUATES OF AWF’S WILDLIFE INVESTIGATION & EMERGING CRIMES PROGRAM, A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR AGENTS FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT FOCUSED ON CITES REGULATIONS, SPECIES IDENTIFICATION, ILLEGAL TRADE DETECTION, AND HUMAN RIGHTS. © AWF

Investing in African
Changemakers

THE POWER OF THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT

When Ann Wambui applied to be an AWF-Wall Leadership & Management Fellow, she was a wildlife biologist at Mugie Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya. Responsible for overseeing the implementation of field conservation technology tools, Wambui trained more than 80 rangers, most of whom were men.

“It was a challenge because in our patriarchal society women are not seen as leaders,” she explains. “But my experience in AWF’s fellowship program helped me build my inner self-confidence and to see challenges as opportunities. I learned my role as a leader was to empower those around me.”

KENYA: LEBOGANG MATLAKALA, AN AWF-WALL LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT FELLOW, ON A TREEPLANTING FIELD TRIP DURING A 2024 FELLOWSHIP WORKSHOP IN NAIROBI. © SERTIFIED IMAGE

KENYA: ANN WAMBUI, AWF-WALL FELLOW OFTHE YEAR, SPEAKS AT AN INTERGENERATIONAL DIALOGUE ON LEADERSHIP, MAY 2023. © SERTIFIED IMAGE© SERTIFIED IMAGE

Africa is the world’s youngest continent

70% of people are under
age 35

The median age is 19

Named Fellow of the Year in February 2024, Wambui is now a conservation officer at the Loisaba Conservancy in Kenya, managing a team of thirty on invasive species eradication.

The AWF-Wall Youth Leadership program has two tracks, one focusing on leadership and management training for young professionals and a second focusing on policymaking. Both are supported by the Wall Family Foundation. We also continue a tradition of supporting postgraduate research through the Charlotte Fellows program.

Currently, we support nine filmmaking projects exploring topics such as the coexistence of elephants and villagers around Kenya’s Lake Jipe and community-led landscape restoration efforts in Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley. We also invest in conservation journalism training for journalists based across Africa, this year working with reporters from Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda.

2024 AWF-WALL FELLOWS VISIT NGONG ROAD FOREST ASSOCIATION IN NAIROBI, KENYA, TO EXPLORE URBAN CONSERVATION CHALLENGES AND BRAINSTORM SOLUTIONS FOR BALANCING DEVELOPMENT WITH BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION. © SERTIFIED IMAGE

Implementing a Rights-Based Approach to Conservation

A MAN WITH A MISSION… AND A MOTORBIKE

Dodo Moke, AWF Senior Environmental and Social Safeguards Officer, travels over 15,000 kilometers each year to rural communities like those in the remote Bili-Uélé landscape in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The trip by motorbike can take five days, traveling up to 18 hours a day. The route is fraught with security checkpoints, near-impassible dirt roads, river crossings by dugout canoe, and unpredictable weather conditions. The nights are usually spent on the ground; he gave up his tent long ago.

The trials Moke faces in the field are sacrifices he is happy to make. “When I understood that I would never be able to give back to nature what she has given to me, I decided to dedicate my life to acting as her spokesperson and working for her conservation,” he shares. As the father of two daughters, his personal mission is to ensure a bright future for his children and future generations.

DRC: AWF’S DODO MOKE AND A DRIVER TRAVELING TOBILI-UÉLÉ ON A MOTORBIKE. SIX HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF DIRT ROAD SEPARATE BILI-UÉLÉ FROM KISANGANI, THE NEAREST CITY. © AWF

Trained as an economist with a Master’s in governance and human rights, Moke understands how good management translates to good economics. He has seen how past conservation efforts have infringed on peoples’ rights, creating economic strife and marginalization. That is why Moke is excited to lead implementation of our Rights-Based Approach.

He works with colleagues across AWF to integrate human rights norms into field programs, from planning and implementation to monitoring and evaluation. “We need to respect and acknowledge the basic rights of those who live off the land and steward it,” he explains. “We must sit down with communities, understand their perspectives, and help them create solutions for the issues they identify. We cannot just come in with a solution and force it on communities. That is not sustainable.”

DRC: DODO MOKE MEETS WITH RESIDENTS OF BILI VILLAGE IN THE BILI-UÉLÉ LANDSCAPE. THEY ARE SPREADING OKRA ON THE GROUND BEFORE COOKING IT. THIS VILLAGE IS ONE WHERE MOKE ESTABLISHED A COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT MECHANISM, SUPPORTED BY THE EU NATURAFRICA PROGRAM. © AWF/ARIEL GAKUNGA

In addition to trainings with wildlife authorities to ensure they are aware of the rights of Indigenous and local communities, AWF is supporting the establishment of a first-of-its-kind, community-led process to allow community members to seek redress from rights violations. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Moke partnered with communities to develop a way they can safely lodge and manage concerns (called a “complaint management mechanism”). As part of the process, community members determine how grievances should be collected and processed as well as who will sit on a committee to hear complaints and make decisions.

The results are promising. Recently, a farmer’s debt dispute with an eco-guard was successfully resolved through the community’s complaint committee. From 2022 to today, in Bili-Uélé and Maringa-Lopori-Wamba, the two landscapes in the DRC where Moke has established the complaint management mechanism, 23 complaints have been received. Local committees have resolved 13 and escalated ten criminal matters to authorities.

Building on Moke’s work, in November 2024, AWF landscape managers representing seven countries met in Ethiopia to develop a pilot project with partner PeaceNexus and begin online trainings with SwissPeace. The project will integrate peace and conflict sensitivity into existing rights-based conservation work across all AWF landscape-based field programs.

Along with increasing communities’ security, rights-based conservation strategies increase security for wildlife. In BiliUélé, the complaint management mechanism allowed the community to anonymously report a potential poacher seen carrying an army-issued rifle large enough to take down an elephant. Authorities responded, and the poacher was arrested. In the past, community members would have feared retaliation from the poacher and ignored suspicious activity.

WHAT
LEADERSHIP
LOOKS LIKE

A leader is a decision-maker at any level of society who has the power to influence choices that benefit the long-term conservation of wildlife.

TANZANIA: WILLY AYUBU, INVESTOR AND FARMER IN THE KILOMBERO VALLEY LANDSCAPE. © AWF/ARIEL GAKUNGA

When AWF offered sustainable agriculture training to farmers in the Kilombero landscape of Tanzania, WILLY AYUBU jumped at the opportunity. He was one of two thousand smallholder farmers who learned best practices in cocoa farming and how to establish a nursery. He started small, but each year he planted more, developing his small farm into a thriving business. This year, Ayubu grew more than 110,000 seedlings and anticipates 120,000 next year. He estimates that he has sold seedlings to over 3,000 farmers throughout the region. In partnership with another investor, Ayubu has planted 88 acres with cocoa and banana trees. The farm employs around 50 people, almost twothirds of them women, and his own income has tripled since starting his business.

OUMMA DJAOUDJI is one of four women nominated by her community in Cameroon’s Faro landscape to be a TANGO leader. TANGO stands for “Association for Peaceful Management of Transhumance.” Seasonal livestock movement, known as transhumance, harms crops and contributes to overgrazing and deforestation on community and conservation lands. This causes tension between pastoralist herders and local Cameroonian communities like Aouzi’s. TANGO was formed to bridge the gap between subsistence farmers, local authorities, and herders.

“At first, the villagers were reluctant to join us or listen to our message. However, that did not deter us,” Djaoudji explains. “The TANGO group now has significant influence in the villages.” Thanks to TANGO, Faro National Park officials estimate conflict between herders and community members around the park has decreased by 62 percent. It has been so successful, AWF is bringing the TANGO concept to other landscapes facing transhumance pressures.

While growing up in his Ogiek community, DANIEL KOBEI witnessed firsthand the disregard for Indigenous rights. The Ogiek, traditionally hunter-gatherers dependent on forest resources, have land rights on the fringes of Kenya’s highland forests, but policies of converting communal land to individual ownership led to much of it being sold off to others.

After attending university, Kobei founded the Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program, an NGO that advocates for the human and land rights of the Ogiek community. As Executive Director, he played a key role in winning land tenure rights in the Mau Forest, the Ogiek’s ancestral lands.

Kobei is an active member of the African CSOs Biodiversity Alliance (ACBA), which AWF founded. ACBA has elevated his voice in regional and global policy processes. He also serves as the chair of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity and represents Indigenous Peoples under the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management. In these roles, he advocates for the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in global biodiversity conservation discussions and policy.

CHARLES OKENY, a prosecutor stationed at the Lake Mburo Conservation Area in Uganda, is a graduate of AWF’s year-long Wildlife Judicial and Prosecutorial Assistance Program. This rigorous program addresses crucial aspects of wildlife law enforcement, investigation, and prosecution. It contributed to a pivotal moment in Okeny’s career—the successful prosecution of five poachers responsible for killing a giraffe, resulting in landmark five-year prison sentences for the poachers.

Okeny’s cases are strengthened by partnerships with a network of investigators and judicial police, all of whom received AWF training in proper evidence management to ensure admissibility in court. Before the program’s implementation, conviction rates were hampered by inadequate evidence and procedural mistakes. Today, he manages an impressive monthly caseload of about 60 cases, with a conviction rate of around 80 percent.

In 2021, while working at CGTN Africa, LUCIA MOKI attended AWF’s journalism training, a pivotal experience that improved her ability to pitch impactful conservation stories to her editors. The training deepened her understanding of resilient ecosystems, empowering her to craft compelling narratives that resonate from an African perspective.

Now a News Interview Producer at TRT WORLD (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation), Moki uses these skills to shape global conversations through TRT Afrika’s flagship climate change program, “Just 2 Degrees,” which reaches 8.5 million global viewers. Over the past year, she has produced 11 in-depth stories addressing African conservation topics such as species protection, climate resilience, and
environmental justice.

“I like the bonobos because they help us,” explains MBOYO ELOMBE WEEKEND, a sixth-grade student at the Ilima School in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s remote Maringa-Lopori-Wamba landscape. Bonobos are an endangered great ape found only in her country, with populations in decline due to habitat loss and bushmeat hunting. Since AWF established the school in 2015, more than 1,400 children have participated in the conservation education program, gaining knowledge that they share with their families. For Mboyo’s community, conservation education along with a community-wide commitment not to illegally hunt, training in sustainable agriculture practices, and the development of women’s livelihood opportunities have contributed to an incredible 400 percent increase in the bonobo population in the nearby Lomako Reserve

AWF STAFF

leadership Spotlight

ANTHONY AGBOR

AWF Landscape Director, Faro, Cameroon

As a child in a remote village in southwest Cameroon, Anthony Agbor developed a deep appreciation for nature and conservation. “Our village was isolated, and we often saw monkeys and other wildlife around us,” he recalls. Influenced by traditional beliefs and his involvement in a conservation club during secondary school, Agbor decided to pursue a career in primate research.

After earning his Master’s of Research from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, Agbor managed large-scale field research operations across multiple countries for the Institute. His career evolved as he sought to translate research findings into actionable conservation strategies. He moved on to gain extensive experience coordinating community projects and engaging stakeholders across Africa.

In March 2024, Agbor joined AWF as director for the Faro landscape. With over 17 years of experience, he aims to implement AWF’s strategy, funded with support from the European Union, to stabilize security for Cameroon’s Faro National Park. The park is part of a larger protected area complex that crosses into Nigeria. “I believe that real transformation begins when local communities understand how wildlife and habitats directly benefit their lives. This is the cornerstone of my approach to fostering meaningful and inclusive conservation.”

CAMEROON: THE FARO RIVER IS IN THE NORTHEASTERN SECTION OF FARO NATIONAL PARK. IT IS A TRIBUTARY OF THE BENUE RIVER, AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF WATER FOR MORE THAN 10 MILLION PEOPLE IN CAMEROON AND NIGERIA. WATER FLOWS FROM THE FARO RIVER HAVE BEEN DECREASING, DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE PRESSURES AND LIVESTOCK EROSION OF THE RIVERBANK. © AWF/ARIEL GAKUNGA

ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE

TANZANIA: AWF IS WORKING IN THE KILOMBERO VALLEY TO BUILD CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND ADAPT TO THE CHANGING CLIMATE. PROJECTS INCLUDE CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK VALUE CHAINS, AND
WATERSHED RESTORATION. © AWF/ARIEL GAKUNGA

According to the World Bank, at the current rate of global warming, by 2050 86 million Africans will be displaced or forced to migrate due to climate change.

But climate change impacts not only affect people. They are also responsible for shifting wildlife habitats and migration routes, another reason why conservation strategies that go beyond the boundaries of protected areas are essential. And while Africa has never been a major source of global emissions, that could change if Africa pursues the same industrialization path others have followed. That is why we believe it is essential to invest in local communities and build sustainable economies that value nature and healthy ecosystems.

AWF has identified 42 biologically and ecologically important landscapes across sub-Saharan Africa. We are monitoring 45 wildlife populations in 13 of them.

Examples Of....

Resilience

In Kenya’s Tsavo landscape, severe droughts in 2023 led to record animal deaths of both wildlife and livestock. In response, AWF is partnering with the Land Development and Governance Institute and Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners, funded by Sida, to reactivate three water resource user associations.

These associations focus on sharing management and conservation of water resources. This includes implementing grazing and irrigation designations, user restrictions, and erosion prevention measures. The associations have improved fresh water availability for 40,000 people, as well as for agriculture, livestock, and wildlife, contributing to more positive human-wildlife coexistence. Other climate resilience work is taking place in Cameroon, the DRC, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

KENYA: ANTHONY JOHN AND MARTIN MAFUSA, MEMBERS OF THE LOWER BURA WATER RESOURCE USER ASSOCIATION, PLANT FRUIT TREES TO MARK THE EDGE OF A BUFFER ZONE DESIGNED TO PREVENT SOIL EROSION ALONG THE BANK OF THE NYOLO RIVER IN BURA, TAITA TAVETA COUNTY. © AWF

Adaptation

In Tanzania’s Kilombero landscape, shifting weather patterns have created hotter and drier conditions for farmers. We assist more than 5,000 farmers with climate-smart agriculture techniques such as water management, drought resistant crop varieties and farm management practices, crop rotation, and agroforestry. This approach helps boost productivity while reducing deforestation.

Additionally, terraced gardens are providing effective erosion control and improving water retention methods for hillside farms. Overall, farmers have seen a 36 percent increase in crop yields and a 23 percent rise in household incomes. The program is a model for scaling sustainable practices with the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania. Other climate smart agriculture projects, including livestock value chains and crops such as cocoa and cotton, are taking place in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

TANZANIA: FARMER LAURENSIA STEPHEN MKUMBAYE AT HER CLIMATE-SMART AGROFORESTRY AVOCADO FARM, WHERE BANANA TREES PROVIDE SHADE FOR YOUNG AVOCADO TREES. AGROFORESTRY IS THE PRACTICE OF PLANTING TREES ALONGSIDE CROPS OR RESTORING LOST VEGETATION ON FARMLAND.
© AWF/ARIEL GAKUNGA

Mitigation

Preventing deforestation and restoring forests are central strategies for conserving wildlife habitat. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Maringa-Lopori-Wamba landscape, our support of two protected areas and four community forests helps to conserve more than 526,000 hectares of Congo Basin rainforest.

Community engagement includes bringing sustainable agriculture techniques to local farmers to reduce pressure on the forest. The results are promising. Satellite-based analysis indicates that the deforestation rate across the six sites declined 22 percent from 2021-2023, compared to the prior three-year period. Other mitigation work is taking place in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

DRC: SUSTAINABLE FARMING IN MARINGA-LOPORIWAMBA OFFERS AN ALTERNATIVE TO HUNTING AND REDUCES PRESSURE ON THE FOREST. ©AWF

INDEX OF
OUR WORK

DRC: BILI VILLAGE IS PART OF THE BILI-UÉLÉ CONSERVATION LANDSCAPE IN NORTHEASTERN DRC, A REMOTE EXPANSE OF PROTECTED AREAS, RAINFOREST, AND COMMUNITY LAND SPANNING 78,000 SQUARE KILOMETERS, LARGER THAN BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS COMBINED. © AWFWATERSHED RESTORATION. © AWF/ARIEL GAKUNGA

DOWNLOAD INDEX OF OUR WORK

Letter from The Chair

As I reflect on the beginning of my second year as Chair of AWF’s Board of Trustees, one word comes to mind: momentum.

The past several years have been ones of great growth for our organization. We came out of Covid-19 in a definitional way, as co-conveners with the IUCN of the Africa Protected Areas Congress. Two powerful networks we developed were unveiled there, the Africa Protected Area Directors and the African CSOs Biodiversity Alliance. Each has since proven to be highly influential in building consensus and policy action for African conservation.

Our rights-based policies are bearing fruit. We have become leaders in defining how to implement rights-based conservation on the ground and in creating dialogue and shared solutions between potential adversaries in conservation landscapes. Our work in Cameroon’s Faro landscape is an example of this—where conflict has measurably decreased between local farmers and pastoralist herders thanks to AWF-initiated teams bringing the two groups together.

Finally, our work to link conservation to economic progress has taken off with the launch of Zimbabwe’s Biodiversity Economy Report. This landmark analysis conducted by AWF, the Ministry of the Environment, and African Leadership University demonstrates how nature’s assets, services, and products are significant drivers of the national economy. It’s a blueprint for sustainable economic development that is now being developed for other countries.

The insights we have gained into how to effectively practice conservation in Africa have been hard-won. The groundwork we have laid to make conservation a driver of growth is solid. And the pathways we have for ensuring conservation is at the table when decisions are being made are influential and diverse.

This all adds up to momentum. Momentum for AWF and for our vision of an Africa where conservation is tied to progress for people. I am proud of our achievements this year and excited about what we will achieve in the years to come. If you are already a partner or supporter, thank you. If you are not, I invite you to join us in building a future for Africa where people and wildlife thrive.

Sincerely,

Larry Green
Chair, AWF Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees

Larry Green (Chair)
Sara Aviel
Myma Belo-Osagie
Akhil Bhardwaj
Mark Burstein
Payson Coleman
H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe
Brad Drummond
Lynn Dolnick
D. Gregory B. Edwards
Mary Glasser
Stephen Golden

Donald Gray
Rt. Hon. Lord
Chris Grayling
Marleen Groen
Heather Sturt Haaga
Gilles Harerimana
H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou
Stephen Juelsgaard
Laura Kohler
Andrew Malk
Charles Mbire
Veronica Meinhard

H.E. Festus Mogae
Christopher Murray
Shingai Mutasa
Emery Rubagenga
Anne Scott
Kaddu Sebunya (CEO)
Craig Sholley
Fred Steiner
Pierre Trapanese
Maria Wilhelm

Country Boards

Canada

Catherine Herring (Chair)
Sheena Chandaria
Colin Chapman
Mark Ponter
Kaddu Sebunya

Kenya

Jacqueline Hinga (Chair)
Kaddu Sebunya
(Secretary)
Mohanjeet Singh Brar
Judy Gona
Ali Kaka
Mutuma Marangu

United Kingdom

D. Gregory B. Edwards
(Chair)
Rt. Hon. Lord
Chris Grayling
Marleen Groen
Heather Sturt Haaga
Gilles Harerimana
Kaddu Sebunya
Junko Sheehan

Trustees Emereti

E.U. Curtis Bohlen
Joan Donner
Leila S. Green
John H. Heminway
Janet & William
“Wilber” James
Dennis J. Keller
Robert King

Victoria Leslie
Henry P. McIntosh IV
Heather Sturt Haaga
David E. Thomson
Charles R. Wall

The Value of an
Unrestricted Gift

AWF’s ability to drive conservation action is thanks largely to the generosity of our donors and supporters worldwide. While the definition of success does not change—leading for, living with, and caring for wildlife—circumstances on the ground in Africa can change quite rapidly.

Unrestricted donors recognize this and trust us to focus their funds on the most targeted and appropriate strategies to achieve our vision. That trust allows AWF to remain nimble in responding to new opportunities and pivot our approaches based on realities in the field.

Because unrestricted donations are provided without limitations, AWF has the flexibility to use them in various ways.

For example, over the past several years unrestricted funds have seeded our global leadership initiatives to influence development decisions that benefit both people and wildlife. This year, unrestricted funds supported landscapes in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as we negotiated for European Union funding. Likewise, the transition of Tanzania’s Manyara Ranch to local community management would not have been possible without unrestricted support.

Unrestricted funding is an essential component of our financial durability, making up more than 55% of donations.

We are deeply grateful to unrestricted donors’ unyielding belief in our teams’ experience on the front lines of conservation and their confidence that we will use their funding wisely to unlock our best solutions for wildlife in Africa.

Unrestricted funds also go toward crucial operational costs, such as rigorous annual audits to ensure financial accountability in all the places where we work, and toward meeting unplanned needs, such as medical emergencies in the field. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we used unrestricted funding to support vulnerable
communities and wildlife authorities when other organizations pulled out.

TANZANIA: ELEPHANTS ROAM THROUGH MANYARA RANCH, PART OF A WILDLIFE CORRIDOR IN NORTHERN TANZANIA BETWEEN NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA AND TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK. UNRESTRICTED FUNDS HAVE BEEN ESSENTIAL IN ENABLING AWF TO RESTORE THE ONCE DEGRADED CATTLE RANCH INTO A THRIVING MULTI-USE COMMUNITY-LED CONSERVANCY. © AWF/ARIEL GAKUNGA

Tying Conservation with Progress