•  Which source of funding for protected areas?
•  Some examples of sustainable protected areas funding processes

  Which source of funding for protected areas?

Many West African countries have difficulties to find the necessary funds for the correct management of their protected areas.

Bellow are the main funding donors in the field of biodiversity in West Africa:

Average and large funding:
• The Global Environment Fund (FEM)
• The French Global Environment Facility (FFEM)
• The European Union: environment
• The European Union: decentralization
• The German Cooperation (GTZ and KfW)

Small funding:
FEM micro funding programme (<$50 000)
• The French Global Environment Facility (FFEM) small-scale initiatives • programme (PPI) (<50 000 €):
• RAMSAR micro funding programme
• Rapid response facility?for world heritage sites (FFI)
• Darwin Initiative (resear

For more information : please read the APAO newsletter n°10 , special issue on funding.

Examples of sustainable protected areas funding processes

Côte d'Ivoire created a foundation for its parks network. Reflections are in progress for the creation of similar foundations in Guinea Bissau, Mauritania (foundation for the Banc d'Arguin national park), in Benin (FSOA).

Another example is given by Gola wet forest protection project in Sierra Leone which is a pilot project in the sub-region and aims at preparing and setting up a long term innovative funding mechanism for forest conservation and management which would take the form of a foundation.