Building Effective Conservation-based Enterprises

Building Effective Conservation-based

EnterprisesSuccesses, Outstanding Challenges and Optimal Means for Scaling up

Impact

Giles Davies, AWFJohn Elias, The Sanctuary at Ol Lentille

Timothy Ole Mosiany, Kijabe Trust

Evolution of AWF’s Conservation Enterprise

African ownership / leadership as founding principleCBNRM in 1980s, particularly Kenya and Tanzania

Large scaleTenure and process focusBenefits stream / benefit sharing

Enterprise building focus from mid-1990sCommunity rights, ownership and

participation in decisionsPrivate sector skills and partnershipPrivate sector financingValid role for NGO as intermediary, facilitatorBusiness success and social sustainability

AWF Conservation Enterprise Program

AWF’s Conservation Enterprise Today

Compelling business & conservation logic

Structure for success

Tourism, trade, agriculture

Social sustainability, including benefit sharing

Conservation Enterprise

• What’s Going Well?

• What are the outstanding Challenges?

• How do we address them?Giles Davies, Director Conservation Enterprise, AWF

Conservation Enterprise

A commercial activity that generates economic benefits in a way that supports

the attainment of a conservation objective

Conservation Enterprise GEOGRAPHICAL ENGAGEMENT

Conservation Enterprise PROJECT PIPELINE

Conservation Enterprise SECTORAL ENGAGEMENT

Conservation Enterprise INVESTMENT SCALE

Conservation Enterprise INVESTMENT DYNAMICS

US$ 9 million total investment in the 20 projects open for business

Conservation Enterprise INVESTMENT RETURNS

What’s Going Well: Developing Critical Mass…

What’s Going Well

Getting the Context Right

Conservation

Community

Commercial

Building a Critical Mass of Commercially Viable Businesses

Key Issue 1: Capacity

Practitioner Level

Customer Level

Financier Level

Key Issue 2: Historical Financing Dynamics

Supply- Led

Finance

Demand- Led

Finance

Key Issue 2: Historical Financing Dynamics

Debt must play a more prominent role

Risk = Rigour

Mitigates Market Distortions

Funding Completion

Enhances Local Ownership and Accountability

Leverage Efficiency

Tax Efficiency

Key Issue 2: Historical Financing Dynamics: Developing Solutions

Example: Linking Livestock Markets to ConservationNorthern Kenya, Arid Lands

Commercial Loan (US$ 350k) to private sector partner (repayable 10 years): seeds the development of a CE Loan Fund within AWF.Also seeds the organic development of a dedicated revolving conservation livestock fund of US$ 1 million housed within the private sector partner.Conditional livestock purchases = US$ 8 million into local communities in first 10 year period.Fully sustainable, highly scalable.

Key Issue 3: Benefits Management

Closed Conservancy Systems – no problem

Open Community Lands Systems – a challenge

Summary

Introducing Ol Lentille

Benefits

5000 >15,000 acres

4 luxury “villas”

Vegetation recovery

Wildlife return

Economy boost: EUR300,000 in 18 months

Asset ownership: EUR 1 million +

Return on community investment: 30 x

Issues

Governance & accountability

Killing the cow and milking it

Livestock & conservation

Size matters

Thank You