Africa must finance conservation future before debt buries it
A sobering reality emerges as African governments get ready to present their national budgets in the upcoming weeks: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that Africa now accounts for 52 percent of the world's most heavily indebted countries.
From Egypt to Ghana, from Kenya to Angola, mounting debt obligations are shrinking the continent's fiscal space at a time when environmental and climate threats are accelerating.
Historically, conservation in Africa has been funded largely by external donors, philanthropic foundations, and international NGOs. While this support has been meaningful, it has also exposed a dangerous dependency. Global priorities are shifting away and yet, the needs on the ground are growing.
The question facing our leaders is this: Can we continue to treat conservation as an optional sector when it is, in fact, the foundation of our sustainable development?A key barrier to domestic conservation financing in Africa is the lack of budget structures that recognise natural assets as part of the economic base.
Despite their clear contributions to sectors like agriculture, tourism, and energy, forests and wildlife are often excluded from formal economic planning.
Yet when assessed, their value is striking; recently Zimbabwe placed its natural capital at over $2 billion annually, and Kenya links ecosystems to over 30 percent of GDP and nearly 40 percent of jobs. Still, without integration into national budgets, these assets remain overlooked and underfunded.
When ecosystems degrade, governments bear the costs elsewhere — through increased food imports, disaster relief, health impacts, and lost productivity. These hidden expenses are rarely captured in fiscal planning.
Recognising ecosystem services as economic assets and integrating natural capital into national accounts would help justify consistent investment in conservation as a form of risk management, not just spending.
This is not an argument against international partnerships but a call for shared responsibility, with African governments leading the way. Conservation must be put at the centre of national planning and public finance.
There are global examples that show what's possible. Costa Rica's Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) program - a government-led initiative that compensates landowners for preserving forests, has reversed deforestation trends and delivered measurable outcomes in climate mitigation, water regulation, and biodiversity protection.
Closer to home, Rwanda is building a green growth strategy around Volcanoes National Park, estimating nearly $300 million in returns to the national economy from development efforts that treat nature as a productive asset. By investing in conservation, Rwanda is also strengthening tourism, infrastructure, and rural livelihoods.
Redirecting a portion of these revenues or introducing targeted environmental levies could provide steady, domestic financing for conservation without imposing significant new tax burdens.
Africa has the natural capital. What it requires now is the political will and financial innovation to treat nature as essential infrastructure.
This means allocating national budget lines to conservation – at an annual incremental minimum of 1 percent of GDP - establishing sovereign green funds, integrating nature into climate and economic policies, and engaging private sector actors in sustainable development. It also means investing in local communities and Indigenous peoples who are the most effective stewards of our natural assets.
The potential returns are immense. According to UN Environment Programme, investing in ecosystem restoration can generate economic benefits up to 30 times greater than the cost of investment.
And yet, many countries continue to underinvest. Protected areas lack adequate funding, and environmental institutions remain overstretched. Conservation is still viewed as a donor responsibility rather than a core national priority — even as 47 African countries face IMF arrears and tightening economic conditions. This is the moment to shift course: To treat conservation as a resilience strategy, not a luxury, and to fund it accordingly.
So, as national budgets are debated and finalised, the real test is whether governments will rise to meet this challenge. Will they continue to outsource environmental protection, or will they begin to own it, financially, politically, and morally?We cannot borrow our way into climate security. We cannot depend indefinitely on foreign aid to protect our forests, rivers, and wildlife. And we cannot afford to ignore the link between ecological collapse and economic fragility.
Conservation is not a cost; it is a precondition for prosperity. And it is time we fund it like it matters. Because it does.
© Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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