Conservation in Africa is increasingly being measured not only by the wildlife it protects, but also by the jobs it creates, businesses it supports and the livelihoods it improves.

New findings from the African Wildlife Foundation’s (AWF) Rwanda Programme Report 2020–2025 show that community-led conservation around Rwanda&039;s Volcanoes National Park is delivering both economic opportunities and ecological gains through entrepreneurship, climate-smart agriculture and habitat restoration.

AWF Chief Executive Officer Kaddu Sebunya said the report demonstrates that conservation should be viewed as an economic opportunity rather than just an environmental responsibility.

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"From that report now, we can confirm that we know what works, we know what doesn&039;t work, we know which models work more than others. What we now need to struggle with is how we scale this up at a national level or at a pan-African level,” Sebunya said in an interview with The New Times on Saturday, July 25.

The report highlights initiatives implemented around Volcanoes National Park in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, where AWF has focused on ensuring conservation generates direct economic benefits for surrounding communities.

Sebunya said Rwanda provides evidence that conservation can support local economies when communities are not only involved in protecting natural resources but also have ownership in the businesses created around them.

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"In conservation, when people get involved, they actually benefit more than when they are not,” he said.

One example is the Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, established through AWF’s International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) in partnership with the government and surrounding communities.

The world-class tourism facility is owned by the Sabyinyo Community Livelihoods Association, allowing communities to directly benefit from tourism revenue generated around mountain gorilla conservation.

Over the three-year reporting period ending in June 2020, the lodge generated $1.3 million in income, supporting 54 community projects and reaching more than 60,000 people, 58 per cent of whom are women.

The initiative also contributed to the creation of 565 green jobs, enabled 724 households to acquire land or livestock, and helped more than 4,600 people move into a higher household wealth category.

Sebunya said this model demonstrates the difference between community participation and ownership.

"The community is not standing at the edge of the tourism economy; it owns the asset and shares in the value the landscape creates.”

He added that eco-tourism should not simply mean tourism located near nature, but an industry where ownership, revenues and incentives strengthen both livelihoods and conservation.

AWF is now extending this approach beyond hospitality into other value chains around the Volcanoes landscape.

Working with business development organisation Inkomoko, AWF has trained 102 entrepreneurs, 63 per cent of whom are women and 42 per cent youth, while a revolving enterprise fund accessed through the microfinance institution Réseau Interdiocésain de Microfinance (RIM) has financed 57 households in Musanze District.

Women make up 77 per cent of borrowers, while 88 per cent of financed enterprises are agriculture-based.

The foundation has also supported a horticulture hub that has trained 160 smallholder farmers, 72 per cent of them women. Since becoming operational in August 2025, the hub generated Rwf5.5 million from its first harvest and created more than 60 jobs.

Sebunya said the next step is connecting these enterprises to wider markets through the agriculture hub, the Community-Based Tourism Centre and the Volcanoes Landscape Enterprises brand.

"This is how a visitor economy becomes a local production economy: hotels buy food from nearby farmers; tour operators buy experiences from community enterprises; digital platforms connect products to consumers; and finance revolves to the next entrepreneur.”

He said the goal is to ensure tourism spending does not end at park boundaries.

"People come to see mountain gorillas and they shouldn't walk out without buying a craft. Their lodges need agricultural produce, which communities are now producing. That value chain is critical because we leave money in the landscape,” he added.

Sebunya said women and young people are central to this approach, arguing that the future of conservation depends on whether young Africans see it as an economic opportunity.

"If youth feel that conservation is not their sector, we are going to fail. The long-term success of Africa is on the shoulders of young people.”

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He added that conservation will influence the continent’s future by shaping access to resources such as water, food, clean air and livelihoods.

Alongside economic initiatives, AWF says conservation efforts have also produced measurable environmental results.

The organisation has secured 142.4 hectares through voluntary, negotiated agreements, including 92.4 hectares for the expansion of Volcanoes National Park and 50 hectares for resettlement.

In partnership with Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and EcoPlanet Bamboo Rwanda, 27 hectares of degraded habitat have already been restored using more than 28,000 indigenous plants, with mountain gorillas and other wildlife returning to the restored area.

Through a partnership with German leisure company TUI, the foundation has also introduced freshwater environmental DNA monitoring at 30 sites to strengthen biodiversity tracking.

Despite these gains, Sebunya said more work remains. Volcanoes National Park has lost an estimated 53 per cent of its original area. By 2030, AWF aims to restore and effectively manage 1,000 hectares, help 500 households increase their incomes by 30 per cent, and mobilise $10 million for conservation and community development.

"What we need to change now is to help communities living near wildlife earn money for their households. We want them to earn from mountain gorillas, pay school fees for their children, build better houses and improve their lives.”

Sebunya argued that Africa should start viewing its natural resources as an economic advantage rather than focusing primarily on extractive industries.

"The wealth of Africa is above the ground. We've been told that the wealth of Africa is underground, in minerals and oil, but our comparative advantage is in nature. Conservation must generate value for African people,” he added.