Opening remarks and welcome

Presentation and interactive session on the WEII and other SOWC work, including an exciting new initiative.
 

Where have there been conservation successes and what can we learn from them in order to ensure greater success moving forward, whilst aligning conservation and development. What are the main drivers of success in conservation?

Tompkins Conservation: Lessons from South America, followed by reflections for Africa 

Strike up conversations and exchange contact details to build connections, partnerships, and collaborations.

A new, innovative business that supports a holistic, landscape approach to conservation, with the primary goal of offering market-linked incentives to small-scale farmers around the Okavango Delta for coexisting with elephants, while creating significant environmental, economic and social impact. 

Music and popular culture as levers for innovative conservation financing and behaviour change.

Current funding for nature, biodiversity and conservation is wholly inadequate. It is naïve to think that the current funding pools can increase funding to the levels required. We need new pools of capital. The largest pools of capital are the capital markets. This presentation will consider these pools of capital and how they can be attracted into funding nature on a very large scale.

Bridging the gap between conservation and entrepreneurship, evaluating innovative finance models, proof of concept and scalability and aligning investor expectations with conservation needs.

Strike up conversations and exchange contact details to build connections, partnerships, and collaborations.

Are local communities the only resort for ecosystem-scale conservation? This talk explores why empowering local communities is not just an option but the best strategy for preserving Africa's large landscapes. Through real-world examples and interactive audience engagement, we'll demonstrate how community-led models offer cost-effective, scalable solutions that protect biodiversity and enhance livelihoods.
 

This talk will explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionize conservation.  We'll discuss why relying solely on traditional methods might not be enough to address today's complex environmental challenges.  AI is transforming various sectors, and conservation is no exception. From identifying endangered species, tracking wildlife populations and predicting habitat changes, together we will envision a future where AI plays a crucial role in ensuring a sustainable future for all.
 

Can a nonhuman species pay for its own protection? In this talk we will unpack a world first: another species holding and spending money based on its AI inferred interests. Together with the Rwanda Ministries of Finance and Technology, the Rwanda Central Bank, and the Rwanda Development Board, Interspecies Money has empowered a family of Rwanda mountain gorillas to hold a secure digital identity and send mobile money payments. We believe this is the first step in a multigenerational, trillion dollar journey for many species to participate in the human market economy in order to improve their life outcomes. 

Through contributions from a vast ecosystem of people and organisations, the Sustainable Finance Coalition are pleased to launch the online Finance Solution Inventory©. The Inventory is a growing knowledge-hub of key information pertaining to sustainable finance solutions, with knowledge products of tailor-made finance solutions at various stages of development in Africa. The Coalition will practically demonstrate how to use the Finance Solution Inventory. The purpose to assist conservation NGOs with the knowledge and steps required to find the right finance solutions for their context. The Inventory includes finance solutions from Insurance Products and Bonds to Environmental Tax Incentives and Nature Credits.  All contributing to closing the Finance for Nature gap through collective action

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Explore how Baotree is transforming sustainability tracking and impact measurement for camps, lodges and foundations through its intuitive platform. This session will include a demonstration of how Baotree’s technology and team turns complex sustainability challenges into manageable, measurable actions. Plus, engage with fellow attendees in a unique “Needs and Leads” networking activity to build connections and collaborations.

To achieve sustainable conservation solutions, we must rethink the business of conservation. This session aims to engage attendees in exploring, with experts, how local communities can manage conservancies with modest budgets while ensuring that people and livelihoods remain central to conservation efforts.

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Strike up conversations and exchange contact details to build connections, partnerships, and collaborations.

African carbon projects have the potential to deliver the best quality carbon credits in the world. How do we ensure this happens?
 

Discover the innovative and collaborative conservation business models that African communities are creating to safeguard nature and their own well-being. Hear the inspiring stories of community-private partnerships from Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia that are enhancing the income and agency of rural people in Africa. 

This session will spotlight the critical role of young people in reshaping Africa’s conservation landscape, moving from ideas and theory to actionable strategies. The session will explore how youth-driven innovations are advancing inclusive, sustainable solutions that empower communities and safeguard wildlife, ensuring long-term economic and conservation benefits.

This session will explore how development can catalyze community-driven conservation. At MASS Africa Studio, we amplify African voices and culture to redefine prosperity by leveraging the built environment as a catalyst for creating transformative
spaces that prioritize both people and the environment.

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This fireside chat will delve into what drives success in community-led conservation, highlighting both achievements and obstacles. We will discuss how tailored approaches, capable leadership, and inclusive governance enable communities to benefit from conservation, fostering ownership and economic opportunity through the wildlife economy.

In the complex world of community-led conservation, effective governance is the key to reducing investment risks and ensuring success. This talk delves into how good governance at all levels empowers all stakeholders, aligning interests and fostering partnerships that attract investment and drive sustainable outcomes in conservation-driven social enterprises.
 

Witness the innovation in pipeline of an NFT marketplace and gamification using Rwanda's centralized digital currency, all while supporting conservation and promoting sustainable ecotourism.

How many African youth are prevented from pursuing conservation careers? How many NGOs struggle to quantify their efforts? And how many employers fail to recruit emerging local talent into the employment pipeline? Learn how Vumba supports youth, NGOs, and businesses to connect the next generation of conservation leaders to the greater wildlife economy. 

Discussions around the wildlife asset and its management and how to create a more enabling business environment, including what would be needed to develop a sovereign debt instrument related to the WEII
 

Strike up conversations and exchange contact details to build connections, partnerships, and collaborations.

The session will cover the Building Blocks of Biodiversity Credits for successful replication and the opportunities for enhancing outcomes-based payments to better meet emerging biodiversity markets and sustainable financing of Africa’s landscapes.
 

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Good governance is vital for the success of community-led conservation initiatives, and global conservation efforts in general. This session will delve into the necessary investments and ongoing practices required to maintain effective governance, ensuring long-term success and community engagement.

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Only a paradigm shift can save us. This session will explore how innovative Nature Asset models can help NGOs secure capital from their existing work while offering high-net-worth individuals and corporations a chance to impact conservation at compound interest levels. Whether through biodiversity credits or other models, the value of ecosystem services is undeniable; it's about effectively measuring and harnessing that value. Join us to explore the most effective Nature Asset methodologies for safeguarding Africa’s biodiversity and learn how we can achieve significant returns for both land stewards and investors.
 

Strike up conversations and exchange contact details to build connections, partnerships, and collaborations.

With the voluntary carbon market within Africa showing early signs of exponential growth it is critical that scaling takes place with a community-led approach and greater levels of integrity. Join Carbon Tanzania, developer of award winning projects, to learn how equitable revenue sharing is benefiting participating communities and local governments in Tanzania. Then envision what additional opportunities for sustainable development, land and resource rights and conservation could arise when access to carbon finance is scaled.

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This session will spotlight the critical importance of African countries adopting a structured and standardized approach to assessing and building wildlife economies through an innovative decision support toolkit. Through a dynamic discussion with experts, policymakers, and stakeholders, we aim to draw valuable feedback and insights to help refine the toolkit to ensure its fit for purpose.

Rwanda has developed a successful model of cooperatives which supports various revenue-generating activities. As part of African Parks’ community development programme in Rwanda, the organisation partners with and supports 108 cooperatives with over 20 thousand members. The members are engaged in income-generating activities around the protected areas and different employment/service activities within Nyungwe and Akagera. Building on the work the park teams have done within this structure thus far, African Parks is now keen to apply the lessons learned across the other countries where it manages protected areas.

Strike up conversations and exchange contact details to build connections, partnerships, and collaborations.

Discussions related to green bonds, Project Financing for Permanence (PFP),  the carbon economy and other innovative solutions