The Nature Facility provided recommendations to UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for programming and policy engagement priorities with joint conservation, development, and climate change objectives.
Commissioning department: FCDO Uganda and DRC
Background
Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are home to a wealth of biodiversity of global importance, especially in the Albertine Rift region of eastern DRC and western Uganda. However, this natural capital is under threat due to agricultural expansion, poaching, logging, fuelwood harvesting, bushmeat hunting, and extractive industries.
Both countries are also characterised by high levels of poverty, natural resource dependency and vulnerability to climate change.
Despite these challenges, there are opportunities to drive sustainable development and conservation. Global financial flows for nature and climate are increasing; conservation organisations are well placed to deliver interventions drawing on relationships with local communities; and conservation programming is increasingly moving towards more locally led, rights-based approaches.
To take advantage of these opportunities, a number of barriers must be addressed. For FCDO, more evidence is needed to direct increasing aid flows towards cost-effective and equitable solutions with lasting impact.
What did the Nature Facility do?
The Nature Facility provided recommendations to FCDO in Uganda and DRC for programming and policy engagement priorities with joint conservation, development, and climate change objectives.
Recommendations are in line with the requirements of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the “nature for climate and people” pillar of the UK’s International Climate Finance (ICF) strategy. They include:
- Increasing FCDO support in “nature ICF” areas where joint biodiversity, climate, and poverty goals can be met, focusing on the Albertine Rift region, including the Greater Virunga and Murchison-Semliki landscapes
- Liaising with the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration to scope potential further FCDO support for their new strategic plan
- Seeking to drive systemic approaches in joined-up conservation and development programming, focusing on strong private sector engagement, incentives and behaviour change and lasting results at scale
In addition, the Nature Facility makes further specific policy and programming recommendations, subject to further analysisto establish the detail:
- Commission landscape-level market studies exploring the functioning of relevant markets of greatest importance to local livelihoods and threat to biodiversity.
- Promote effective landscape conservation models of protected areas, drawing on the market studies, success stories from elsewhere, FCDO expertise, and rights-based and locally led approaches.
- Sustainable fisheries programming informed by market studies, with an emphasis on scale and sustainability beyond conventional community livelihoods programming.
- Liaise with FCDO London on interventions around forestry and conservation finance, supporting the work of upcoming global programmes in the DRC and Uganda through local policy engagement.
FCDO in Uganda is now following up with detailed nature programming.