Toward a CCI “West Africa Nature Transformation initiative”: strategic participatory development.
Toward a CCI “West Africa Nature Transformation initiative”: strategic participatory development.
The project will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Guinean Forests’ biodiversity threats and livelihoods, involving local stakeholders, identifying research questions, and establishing a participatory foundation for investigating catchment- and jurisdictional-based approaches. The findings will guide future efforts towards transformative conservation actions and economic trajectories in West Africa.
Project Aims
This funding aims to create a theory of change for the WANTi initiative, collaborating with various stakeholders including local governments, NGOs, and universities. The project has two main objectives:
1) Enhance understanding of threats to biodiversity, their link to climate and livelihood challenges, and identify knowledge gaps.
2) Collaborate with various entities to draft a theory of change, pinpoint research needs, and prioritize themes. The focus is on the GFWA biome, comparing knowledge at different scales. The project emphasizes local participation and will provide insights for future conservation efforts, aligning with the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute’s goals.
Key Activities
The methodology includes data collection, analysis, theory of change development, and stakeholder engagement. The consortium will conduct a regional biodiversity assessment using data from the IUCN Red List, focusing on threatened species and potential solutions for threat abatement. This will be complemented by an analysis of socio-political factors to guide the WANTi’s conservation goals. The project will emphasize stakeholder engagement, organizing (a) workshop(s) for co-designing the WANTi theory of change. The Delphi approach will refine this theory, ensuring alignment with conservation goals. Collaborative partnerships with local organizations and universities will be established to enhance conservation efforts and integrate local knowledge.
Conservation Impact
The project lays the foundation for the wider WANTi initiative, focusing on individual landscapes/watersheds. It aims to enhance the status of threatened species, expand biodiversity knowledge, influence environmental policies, and foster regional collaborations. The initiative will introduce holistic conservation methods, such as nature-based climate solutions, and promote sustainable land and water management. Engaging various stakeholders, from governments to communities, is pivotal. Outcomes encompass a deeper understanding of socio-ecological dynamics, leading to better conservation strategies. Stakeholder capacity will be boosted through workshops and knowledge sharing, enhancing conservation practices. The project will develop a comprehensive WANTi approach for the GFWA long-term protection.
Outputs
The project will produce a preliminary map detailing multidimensional biodiversity threats in the region, analyzing existing data to comprehend these threats and their origins while pinpointing data gaps. A Theory of Change will be formulated, delineating the strategies and interventions for WANTi’s conservation goals. Collaborative ties will be forged with local organizations, academic institutions, and other stakeholders to bolster the WANTi’s enduring aims. Additionally, a Workshop Report will be generated, encapsulating the dialogues, results, and advice from international experts, consortium members, and local participants during the collaborative workshop.
Project Overview
Project leads
Project team
Credits
Photo by Tim Oun, Unsplash