Coinciding with World Earth Day 2022, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), today launched the Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance in collaboration with private sector partners Kashikoto Conservancy Limited and Amatheon AGRI Zambia Limited. Implemented by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and supported with a $10 million grant from USAID, the Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance brings public, private, and civil society actors together with local communities to address threats to biodiversity in and around the eastern side of Zambia’s Kafue National Park.
The Greater Kafue Ecosystem is renowned for its rich diversity of forests and wildlife. However, poverty-driven threats to this natural endowment, coupled with gaps in resource protection and management, have led to encroachment, unsustainable forest clearing, overfishing, high poaching rates, and destructive fires in the area. This ecological erosion of the Kafue threatens the future prosperity of businesses and local communities, who depend upon these natural resources for their livelihoods and well-being.
The Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance aims to develop and strengthen community-led conservation models to help secure natural resources in Zambia’s Eastern Kafue landscape. This $21.3 million program will empower local communities in conservation and sustainable management while strengthening relationships between local communities and the private sector. In addition to USAID funding, the Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance has received approximately $11.3 million from private sector partners.
Through the Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance, USAID and its partners will implement four key strategic approaches to address the drivers of biodiversity loss: strengthening management and regulatory compliance to conserve forests and wildlife in Game Management Areas; developing inclusive conservation-friendly agriculture and nature-based markets; improving community access to safe water and health care for mothers and children; and working with local community members to develop effective land and resource use plans, secure tenure of their land, and strengthen governance systems.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy in Zambia.
