THE PROBLEM WE EXIST TO SOLVE
One interconnected crisis, too often treated as two
Africa’s ecosystems are under mounting pressure from unsustainable resource use, deforestation, land degradation, weak governance, and climate change.
Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, taking with it the ecosystem services that millions of people depend on for food, water, and livelihoods. At the same time, the rural and indigenous communities who live closest to these ecosystems continue to face poverty, food insecurity, poor access to health services, and few opportunities for their young people.
These are not separate crises. Conventional approaches that treat them in isolation tend to produce fragmented, short-lived solutions.
Our founding conviction
Sustainable conservation cannot be achieved without improving human well-being. Lasting development cannot be achieved without protecting the natural systems people depend on.
OUR BELIEF
Africa needs a different model, one built on a simple conviction: the future of people and nature is inseparable.
Our approach
We don’t see conservation, health, agriculture, climate resilience, and economic empowerment as separate sectors. We work at the intersection of all of them.
Communities as stewards, not bystanders
Empowered to manage the natural resources their futures depend on participating in conservation planning, governance, and resource management.
Ecosystem health and human health are linked
A One Health approach connecting wildlife, livestock, and people recognizing that healthy ecosystems and healthy communities are fundamentally interconnected.
Nature has a recognized economic value
Natural capital accounting brings conservation into development planning, helping governments and institutions recognize the value of ecosystems.
Climate resilience built from the ground up
Climate-smart agriculture, ecosystem restoration, and renewable energy solutions that strengthen adaptive capacity where it’s needed most.
The next generation leads
Youth mentorship, leadership development, and local knowledge systems that build a new generation of African conservation and development leaders.
THE CHALLENGE WE ADDRESS
Two crises, one root cause
Africa’s most important ecosystems are increasingly threatened by biodiversity loss, deforestation, and climate change while the rural and indigenous communities who depend on them face persistent poverty and exclusion from decision-making. Environmental degradation undermines livelihoods; poverty and weak institutions drive unsustainable resource use. Treated separately, these problems produce fragmented, short-lived solutions.
HOW ACDEF CREATES CHANGE
We work through an integrated landscape approach that brings together conservation, community development, climate resilience, health, and governance. We strengthen local stewardship by empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to lead conservation planning and resource management, while applying a One Health approach that treats ecosystem, animal, and human health as one system.
CHALLENGE
Interconnected ecological and social crisis
APPROACH
Integrated landscape stewardship, One Health, natural capital
OUTCOMES
Resilient ecosystems, thriving communities
THE OUTCOMES WE SEEK
Five interconnected outcomes, reinforcing one another
ECOLOGICAL
Forests, wetlands, and freshwater systems recover and continue providing essential ecosystem services, with reduced biodiversity loss and stronger protection for threatened species.
SOCIAL
Improved well-being and resilience for IPLCs, with women, youth, and marginalized groups empowered to participate in and benefit from conservation and development.
ECONIMIC & GOVERNANCE
Natural capital recognized in policy and planning, with green enterprises and nature-positive local economies creating long-term opportunity.
CLIMATE RESILIENCE
Communities and institutions better equipped to adapt to climate change, restore degraded landscapes, and improve agricultural productivity.
LEADERSHIP & KNOWLEDGE
A growing network of African conservation and development leaders, with evidence-based decision-making and successful models replicated across landscapes.
The long-term impact we aim to deliver
An Africa where thriving ecosystems and thriving communities reinforce one another, where IPLCs are recognized as stewards of their territories, and nature-based economies create sustainable pathways out of poverty.
THE FUTURE WE’RE BUILDING TOWARDS
Five interconnected outcomes, reinforcing one another
An Africa where thriving ecosystems and thriving communities reinforce one another
We envision forests, rivers, wetlands, and wildlife protected and restored, while the people who live alongside them enjoy better livelihoods, food security, health, and opportunity. This is a future we believe is possible because we’re already building it, landscape by landscape, community by community.
- Natural capital recognized as a foundation of prosperity, not an obstacle to it
- Indigenous peoples and local communities respected as custodians of biodiversity
- Climate-resilient, sustainable agriculture securing rural economies
- A new generation of African leaders driving ecological and social transformation
See this belief put into practice. Explore the programmes that carry it forward.
The African Conservation and Development Foundation (ACDEF)
is a UK registered organization, Headquartered in Cambridge and works for nature and people in Africa
Charity No. 1125961
Company No. 6334400
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