Please download the WWF Africa Annual Report here below:

ROA AR 2016+Appendix r.pdf (3.1 MiB)

This first Annual Report produced by WWF’s Regional Office for Africa features highlights from the FY16 conservation programme run from 11 country offices across the continent.

The report covers a period of transition as the WWF Network moves from a global conservation programme which rested on Global Initiatives, such as the Coastal East Africa and the Green Heart of Africa, to a new conservation framework based on six Global Goals – freshwater, climate and energy, food, forests, oceans, and wildlife. The new programme also includes attention to three cross-cutting drivers of change that have a major impact on the environment – governance, markets and finance.

Also in transition is the Truly Global initiative to strengthen WWF’s country offices to better deliver on the Global Goals. For the 11 offices in Africa to play a more effective role in supporting national conservation programmes, they need to be strongly embedded in the societies in which they work. To help guide this process, and to build credibility, legitimacy and outreach, the Regional Office for Africa has identified six key areas on which to focus: leadership, accountability, advocacy, funding, a clear conservation strategy, and a firm foundation in local society – the pillars of successful conservation.

Symbolic of both these transitions, the WWF Annual Conference was held in June 2016 in Zambia – on the banks of the Zambezi River and at the heart of the giant 52-million-hectare Kavango-Zambezi transboundary protected area complex – better known as KAZA. Here the WWF International Board approved the new Global Goals and the process to launch WWF Kenya as a new WWF national organization. And it is no small thing that by the end of FY16, most African offices had developed their own country strategic plans, a first in our history as well.

Alive to this period of transition, this report is both forward looking – with a format based on the six Global Goals and the three drivers in the context of Africa – and reflective, with a brief summary of progress on the way to achieving the FY16 highlights. An important element of looking ahead is a summary of the regional office’s proposed transformational projects – designed to be time bound, led by country offices and cutting across boundaries with impact at scale in delivering on the Global Goals and drivers.

All nine of these issues are central to the future viability of Africa’s natural environment and its ability to support people and wildlife. By working with partners such as the African Development Bank and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, WWF is well placed to play a key role across Africa in promoting environmentally responsible and socially sound development policies.

Within this reporting period, and with strong support from WWF, the UN approved Agenda 2030 with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to eliminate poverty and inequality, achieve food, water and energy security, and protect the environment. There is an obvious synergy between the SDGs and WWF’s Global Goals, and the successful implementation of the Global Goals while harnessing the cross-cutting drivers to sustainability will directly support the SDGs.

 Please download the WWF Africa Annual Report here below: