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Pro-Nature Enterprises Project

CLIMATE

Since 2021, Conservation International’s Pro-Nature Enterprises project (funded by the French Development Agency and the French Facility for Global Environment) has shown that nature can be sustainably managed while improving southern African communities’ resilience to climate change, human-wildlife conflict, and degraded grasslands and rivers.

Through a variety of tools, including conservation agreements, we are supporting the protection and restoration of communal grasslands and freshwater fisheries in Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Recently, Conservation International and our partners expanded the project’s reach to six new communities in Zambia and South Africa that have signed conservation agreements, in which they commit to restore and sustainably manage their grazing pastures in return for improved market access and premium prices for local beef. Given that these are communal lands, Conservation International also supports good governance in the community — helping the farmers in establishing grazing associations to facilitate the conservation agreements and offer a forum for discussion and problem-solving.

To date, 115 local people have been employed as eco-rangers, grazing support team members or fisheries monitors, with many more working in associated sustainable businesses. The project also supports 30 community-owned, conservation-friendly enterprises that have attracted nearly US$ 250,000 in investments. After our support, these businesses went on to generate US$ 300,000 in sales income for local households.

200,000+

HECTARES

Overall, because of the Pro-Nature Enterprises project, more than 200,000 hectares (490,000 acres) of grasslands and rivers are under improved management, with 1,400 households participating.

No fish means no business for us. If fish were depleted, our business would fail. By using legal and sustainable methods, we ensure a future with plenty of fish to sustain our livelihoods.

Winnie Chinamila, Chairperson of the Nyamangwe Fish and Fish Traders Committee in Zambia

Supporting fisheries and families

In the Lower Zambezi region of Zambia, fishing is both a dietary staple and a crucial source of income, especially for women.

For Winnie Chinamila, chairperson of the Nyamangwe Fish and Fish Traders Committee, fish is how she supports her family.

“Fish has always been important to me because it has enabled me to raise income to support my school-age children,” she says.

Through the Pro-Nature Enterprises project, and in partnership with the local organization Conservation Lower Zambezi, Conservation International supports the Fish Traders Committee’s net exchange program, which replaces illegal monofilament nets (which can catch young fish and take a long time to degrade if discarded) with legal multifilament alternatives (which are more durable and reduce overfishing). This initiative is grounded in Conservation International’s conservation agreements approach, encouraging compliance with sustainable practices. Licensed fishers voluntarily exchange their illegal nets for legal ones with the committee, currently at no cost.

“When we discussed how difficult it was to catch fish, fishers began supporting conservation efforts. Now, they use correct nets, and we have better catches to sell,” Winnie says.