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Advancing Rights-based and Community-led Conservation in Africa

Evidence, Lessons, and Recommendations

Author: Rights and Resources Initiative

Date: September 9, 2026

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This analysis looks at the rich and diverse experiences of community conservation in Africa. Global policy developments provide new openings for the promotion of rights-based and community-led conservation in the region. In particular, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) marks a turning point in international biodiversity policy in its recognition of the contributions of IPs and LCs to global conservation and the obligations of states to respect their rights, including rights to their lands and resources. In this context, the purpose of this report is to review and assess experiences with community conservation in Africa to better understand its scale and significance, identify current strengths and limitations, and distill lessons on key elements for success. Based on this analysis, the report also identifies progressive policy reforms and investments that can accelerate progress to achieve rights-based and community-led conservation in the region.

  • Key Findings
  • Related Materials

Key Findings

  • 78% of Africa’s land area is held and managed by communities under some form of customary tenure, and more than 80 percent of the continent’s biodiversity lies outside formal state-protected area systems.
  • 84% of the remaining wild organisms in Sub-Saharan Africa are in natural forests and rangelands outside the formal protected area system where people live with and depend on biodiversity.
  • Indigenous and local community knowledge, governance systems, and practices have sustained the region’s biodiverse ecosystems for generations, and it is increasingly clear that the future of Africa’s biodiversity depends on community-led and rights-based conservation.

Related Materials

Annex – Case Studies_Africa Conservation Report-EN