True to the meaning of the word sera (policy in Swahili), AWF’s SERA Policy Initiative leverages the learning and intellectual capital of our African Heartlands beyond the particular landscapes we are able to support, and beyond our network of existing partners and stakeholders. By sharing our learnings and recommendations, AWF believes Africa’s wildlife and wild lands will have a greater likelihood of contributing meaningfully to sustainable economic development in more parts of Africa. Under SERA, AWF adheres to the following 12 policy priorities, using them to guide work in each of our Heartlands and to shape recommendations to public and private stakeholders.

Africa’s wildlife and wild lands are unmatched in the world and one of the continent’s most significant sources of future ‘competitive advantages’ in the global marketplace. AWF encourages African nations to conserve, expand and add value to their wildlife resources and to position them as a critical part of development and growth strategies for the future of the continent, reflected in national strategies for poverty alleviation and for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Conservation in Africa is frequently perceived both locally and internationally as the domain of foreign conservation experts and agencies. While the contributions of all are welcome, AWF believes that the conservation agenda for the continent must be set by and led by African conservation leaders. Where the capacity for this leadership is not yet up to strength, AWF asserts that it is incumbent on all stakeholders to work to develop this capacity, hand in hand with any implementation activities.

AWF recognizes that formally protected areas are central to the delivery of national and global conservation goals. AWF encourages every African nation to create and fully support a protected area system representative of the habitats and biodiversity endemic to the country. These systems must recognize local and national development priorities and work to deliver net benefits at the local and national levels. These systems should operate with a goal of becoming self-financing and sustaining in order to ensure their place as a national public good.

AWF believes in the protection of resources within formally designated national parks but encourages carefully monitored and sustainable use of natural resources outside these more restricted areas to ensure that human needs and aspirations are satisfied while maintaining ecosystem viability. Ecosystem function and biodiversity resources cannot be conserved through protected area systems alone, but requires sustainable management at scale, making the principle of sustainable use central to conservation efforts.

Conservation at scale is important for both ecological and economic reasons. AWF’s experience suggests that a few large-scale conservation and tourism destinations will generate more benefits to society than many small, fragmented efforts. The Kruger/Limpopo conservation area, the Serengeti-Mara-Ngorongoro area, and the Upper Zambezi-Victoria Falls-Okavango area are examples of the environmental and economic potential of large-scale conservation in Africa. AWF supports the scaling up of support to these places and a process of identifying and investing in similar large-scale conservation destinations around the continent.

Biodiversity and ecosystems do not recognize national boundaries. Creating conservation that works, including through large-scale conservation and tourism destinations, requires transfrontier collaboration. AWF is committed to working towards effective policies which encourage regional cooperation, harmonize management, tourism, and revenue-sharing policy and practice across national borders, and facilitate the flow of resources, visitors, and the net benefits of conservation.

Conservation is not passive; it requires active investment in infrastructure which is carefully designed to optimize the benefits to society. AWF encourages African governments and their partners to invest in parks, security, airports, roads, tourism infrastructure and communications that will enable the management of protected areas and the appropriate development of conservation and tourism destinations.

AWF respects the principle that the owners and users of land and wildlife resources must be given the primary stake in their management and in the benefits generated. AWF supports strong, secure, tenure arrangements for local communities living with wildlife on their land, and effective national policy and legal frameworks that protect tenure and rights. AWF has a particular interest in developing and applying models that give local communities a large and defining financial stake in the resources they conserve and in promoting public and private investments in enabling and replicating these models.

AWF recognizes that climate change poses a major threat to Africa and believes that Africa has the opportunity to mitigate the effects of climate change with both technological and environmental responses. AWF supports African efforts to ‘leap frog’ over expensive, inefficient technologies and embrace newer, light technologies like micro-generators and wireless communications which bring affordable services to more people quickly and avoid the creation of a carbon-based infrastructure. Environmentally, avoided deforestation in Africa is already playing a significant role in climate change mitigation, and awareness is increasing as to the potential mitigation contribution of Africa’s grasslands. AWF supports global and national policy frameworks which recognize and reward appropriate local and national sustainable forest, woodland and grassland management efforts.

AWF perceives a strong connection between good governance, democracy, respect for the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the full participation and empowerment of women in decision-making and leadership. AWF values transparency, participation and accountability in decision making processes.

AWF believes that the health of Africa’s ecosystems cannot be separated from the health of its people. A population weakened by chronic and preventable disease is hindered in its ability to achieve its conservation and development goals. AWF endorses local and international efforts to improve the health of people, including strenuous efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.

AWF calls on the international community to encourage, support, and invest in the Africa-defined agenda for the continent, as embodied by the work of the NEPAD program of the African Union and international policy processes, including the Africa Commission and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. These bodies, along with relevant international conventions, issue a common call for substantial increases in investment in Africa’s natural resource and ecosystem management, yet to date, these have not been delivered.