Many communities rely on tourism to generate income and other benefits from local wildlife conservation.
However, the wholesale shutdown of tourism around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how unsustainable this source of income can be – and how any disruption can lead to harmful impacts for people and nature. We have therefore launched a global innovation challenge with the Luc Hoffmann Institute and the African Leadership University’s School of Wildlife Conservation to develop new revenue models that do not depend on tourism for local communities in Africa. Any proposal must enable them to obtain their livelihoods from wildlife, manage their natural resources sustainably, and improve their well-being. Applicants have the chance to win a place on the African Leadership University’s incubation programme and gain access to seed money Find out more about getting involved – the deadline for entries is 15 October. Also, read here about a WWF-Philippines crowdfunding campaign, set up after the community-based ecotourism programme in Donsol, famous for its whale sharks, was seriously disrupted by the pandemic.
