The Africa’s Coexistence Landscapes project aims to promote future security and wellbeing of people and wildlife in key coexistence landscapes of global conservation significance in sub-Saharan Africa. It is an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme, financed by the European Union.

The project aims to foster a shared understanding among policy makers and stakeholders from different sectors of the dynamics characterizing the wide variety of interactions between people and wildlife in selected landscapes. Participatory systems modelling approaches are used to leverage this understanding in the design of integrated policies that improve coexistence outcomes for the local economy, local communities, and the wildlife with which they coexist with.

The project is currently being implemented in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area in Southern Africa and in the TRIDOM-TNS (Tri-national Dja-Odzala-Minkebe and Tri-national de la Sangha) in Central Africa.

Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area

Established on 18 August 2011, the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) in Southern Africa is the world’s biggest conservation area. KAZA spans five countries – Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Sangha Tri-national World Heritage Site

Sangha Trinational (TNS) is a transboundary conservation area in the North-western Congo Basin where Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo meet.

Julian Blanc

Programme Officer, UNEP’s Wildlife Management Unit

Human-wildlife coexistence requires locally developed, integrated and adaptive approaches for the long term, rather than just stop-gap deterrent measures to mitigate conflict incidents. We have to allow and plan for coexistence for both people and wildlife to prosper

Workshop participant

HKC WDA Modelling workshop, November 2019, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

If all KAZA countries worked together with different sectors, including traditional leaders, and shared ideas, the land and systems would be restored

Workshop participant

HKC WDA Modelling workshop, November 2019, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

This workshop has been an eye opener that has shown the importance of a multi stakeholder approach in addressing common problems. It has shown the efficacy of collaboration in seeking harmonious coexistence among the human and wildlife communities

Workshop participant

HKC WDA Modelling workshop, November 2019, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

There is more room to coexist with wildlife and no sector is superior to others and therefore we need to cooperate and fight hard for our natural resources protection for generations to come