In sub-Saharan Africa, biodiversity conservation increasingly depends on making natural landscapes economically competitive with alternative land uses like agriculture. To justify preserving wildlands, these areas must generate enough income to cover both conservation management costs and the opportunity costs of forgoing more profitable activities. However, current government and donor funding covers less than 30% of necessary conservation expenses in central Africa and nothing toward lost economic opportunities. With few alternative funding sources, this creates a major financial gap. For conservation to succeed, wildlands must not only protect nature but also deliver economic returns that rival development—making nature a viable and valuable land use.
