WWF Annual Review 2021 - 49

T O GE T H E R P O S S IB L E
BY WORKING WITH GOVERNMENTS AND PUBLIC
SECTOR FINANCE ORGANIZATIONS, WE CAN CATALYZE
ACTION FOR NATURE ON A SCALE THAT MATTERS.
Nature-based tourism
in the Dzanga-Sangha Special
Reserve, Central African
Republic.
The COVID pandemic has underlined the
importance of international cooperation on
sustainable development - and despite the
severe disruption it caused, our work with public
sector partners has gained strength. In 2021,
we marked 20 years of collaboration with the
Asian Development Bank, with our joint focus
on sustainable infrastructure, nature-based
solutions, the blue economy and water resources
management. We also continued working
with partners like the national ministries for
international cooperation in Europe, the European
Union and the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
to highlight the importance of nature - increasingly
recognized by international development agencies
as part of an integrated approach to sustainable
development. New partnerships included:
NATURE-BASED TOURISM
Communities and small businesses that depend
on ecotourism have been hard hit by the pandemic.
The African Nature-Based Tourism Platform,
launched with US$1.9 million in funding from the
GEF, will connect funders to the communities
and small and medium enterprises most in need
of financial support. The goal is to mobilize at
least US$15 million for emergency relief efforts
and to build greater resilience into ecotourism
business models.
CLIMATE VOICES
We're joining a powerful coalition of local
organizations - Akina Mama wa Afrika,
Fundación Avina, Hivos, Shack Dwellers
International and SouthSouthNorth - across
three continents to support civil society groups
to take action on climate change. The project,
funded by a €55 million grant from the Dutch
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will empower local
people, including under-represented groups
such as Indigenous Peoples, the rural and
urban poor, women and youth.
NATURAL CAPITAL
With the African Development Bank and
principal financial support from longstanding
funding partner Mava Foundation, we've launched
a new programme, Natural Capital for African
Development Finance, for valuing nature in
African infrastructure projects. Accounting for
the value of nature in decision-making is essential
to tackling the climate crisis and supporting a
green recovery from the pandemic.
49
© Andy Isaacson / WWF-US

https://naturebasedtourism.africa/ https://voicesforjustclimateaction.org/ https://voicesforjustclimateaction.org/ https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/events/natural-capital-program-financing-africas-development-45098 https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/events/natural-capital-program-financing-africas-development-45098

WWF Annual Review 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of WWF Annual Review 2021