The Western Congo Basin (WCB) defined here as comprising Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo is being rapidly emptied of its wild animals, with alarming rates of poaching in all four countries.
... Exibir mais + High levels of poaching have numerous deleterious effects for sustainable development. In the WCB, efforts to protect wildlife have focused heavily on the establishment and management of protected areas, often within the context of a landscape-based approach that attempts to engage nearby communities and other land users. The low perceived value of forest wildlife resources for local communities is partially attributable to a lack of economic opportunities currently derivable from the sustainable management of wildlife assets. In a bid to help the WCB countries address this downward spiral, this study identifies approaches that can enhance the economic value of wildlife resources for local communities and governments as a contribution to poverty reduction, economic development, and conservation. It aims to do so at the regional and national levels as a single country cannot address this crisis given the fluidity of both borders and wildlife in the region. Naturally, the set and sequence of solutions most appropriate in any given setting will depend on a number of country-specific conditions. Nevertheless, the majority of the recommendations in this report apply to all four WCB countries. In that spirit, the study first provides an overview of the poaching crisis, using elephants as a case study to illustrate the scale of the problem (chapter 2). It then proceeds to analyze who the poachers are (chapter 3) to better understand drivers of poaching, while Chapter 4 analyzes the policy framework. Chapter 5 proposes approaches for creating economic value from wildlife, sharing it with communities, and creating the necessary underlying governance conditions, providing best-practice examples from other parts of the world. Chapter 6 presents conclusions.
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The Western Congo Basin (WCB) defined here as comprising Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo is being rapidly emptied of its wild animals, with alarming rates of poaching in all four countries.
... Exibir mais + High levels of poaching have numerous deleterious effects for sustainable development. In the WCB, efforts to protect wildlife have focused heavily on the establishment and management of protected areas, often within the context of a landscape-based approach that attempts to engage nearby communities and other land users. The low perceived value of forest wildlife resources for local communities is partially attributable to a lack of economic opportunities currently derivable from the sustainable management of wildlife assets. In a bid to help the WCB countries address this downward spiral, this study identifies approaches that can enhance the economic value of wildlife resources for local communities and governments as a contribution to poverty reduction, economic development, and conservation. It aims to do so at the regional and national levels as a single country cannot address this crisis given the fluidity of both borders and wildlife in the region. Naturally, the set and sequence of solutions most appropriate in any given setting will depend on a number of country-specific conditions. Nevertheless, the majority of the recommendations in this report apply to all four WCB countries. In that spirit, the study first provides an overview of the poaching crisis, using elephants as a case study to illustrate the scale of the problem (chapter 2). It then proceeds to analyze who the poachers are (chapter 3) to better understand drivers of poaching, while Chapter 4 analyzes the policy framework. Chapter 5 proposes approaches for creating economic value from wildlife, sharing it with communities, and creating the necessary underlying governance conditions, providing best-practice examples from other parts of the world. Chapter 6 presents conclusions.
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The policy notes focus on the productive forest sector, and primarily on wood production. The artisanal sector was included for analysis as it constitutes the near-entirety of wood production in the country.
... Exibir mais + It has significant potential for improving its contributions to national development and its sustainability. The industrial sector, on the other hand, provides the sector’s main current flow of financial resources for the government. Optimizing this amount should be a priority both for improving oversight, and therefore sustainability, and its financial viability. In the longer term and given substantial reforms, this part of the sector could also increase its share to national development. However, ensuring legality across all parts of wood production is a significant challenge, and must be phased appropriately. Without it, the sustainability of production cannot be increased, and several connected forest management efforts – including those under the REDD process, will be significantly harder to achieve. Moreover, an adequate flow of benefits to local populations must be ensured. Finally, many stakeholders are pinning substantial hopes on community forestry as a vehicle for increasing forests’ benefits for local populations. While this potential does indeed exist, it is important that the design allows local communities and indigenous populations with legitimate claims to the forest estate to benefit appropriately, while minimizing the potential for abuse.
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From the world's highest mountain ranges to the lowland plains, and from the great oceans and coastal wetlands to agricultural landscapes, nations and communities rely on the bounty and services of natural ecosystems.
... Exibir mais + Biological resources and the goods and ecosystem services they provide underpin every aspect of human life and livelihoods, from food and water security to general well-being and spiritual fulfillment. Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly well endowed by rich biodiversity resources that represent tremendous wealth at the local, regional, and international levels. Yet these resources are increasingly under pressure and threat due to land use change, rapid urbanization, poorly planned infrastructure development and resource extraction, illegal logging, wildlife poaching and trade, and other factors. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the World Bank has been a major global funder and supporter of biodiversity conservation in the past decades. Projects and programs supported by the Bank and often co-financed with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) span across 36 countries and more than 100 projects. They have helped establish and manage globally important protected areas, introduce policies and regulations for the sustainable management of resources, reform institutions, support communities' conservation and sustainable management efforts, develop innovative financing mechanisms, and mainstream biodiversity conservation within the production landscape and in economic sectors. This report reviews the World Bank support to biodiversity conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade (2003-2012), and presents key lessons and directions for the Bank's future biodiversity-related investments. The Africa region is presently undergoing a fundamental transformation. With a firm focus on biodiversity as a component of inclusive green growth, the World Bank is well positioned to continue and strengthen its role as a leading supporter of African countries' conservation efforts.
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