This program will support organizations working on wildlife conservation to assist local communities living in and near wildlife-protected areas, including both farmers and herders, to develop their capacity to actively engage in the preservation of wildlife and Niger’s natural heritage.
Objective
credit:
1:
Amplify the voices of the locals who remain a marginalized group in wildlife-protected areas.
Objective 2:
Promote the welfare of local communities with diversified means of livelihoods and/or the provision of basic infrastructure.Objective 3:
Engage local communities in the fight against violent extremist organizations and traffickers.
Project activities could include the following:- Advocating with government institutions to consider local communities’ needs.- Establishing a surveillance system to create a safe environment that promotes tourism.- Creating diversified income generating activities to reduce dependance on agricultural production.- Establishing information-sharing networks between GoN and local communities to report suspected VEO and poaching activities.
- Using local knowledge to improve wildlife protection policies and programs.- Amplifying the voice of marginalized groups, especially women.- Supporting women-led groups working on environment issues to reverse desertification.- Raising awareness of conservation laws and the law’s benefits for both farmers and herders.
- Basic infrastructure construction for local communities, including health facilities, water sites (wells, boreholes,) and marking cattle passageways for transhumant herders.
Anticipated outcomes attributable to program activities include:- Local communities collaborate and share information with government institutions, limiting the operating space for violent extremist organizations and traffickers.
- Local communities demonstrate an improved willingness to engage in wildlife protection.
- Local communities’ livelihoods are protected.- Local community members, especially women, are engaged and included in the area’s development.