Forest Basin Fund

The Central Africa Regional Program supports projects in Central Africa that strengthen capacity, target key threats to wildlife and their habitats, and build a better evidence base for conservation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) prioritizes strengthening capacity for wildlife protection, including the professionalization of park staff, protected species management, and wildlife law enforcement. USFWS provides tools and technologies for measuring, evaluating, and improving the effectiveness of site-based protection and wildlife conservation. The success of USFWS efforts depends on building the capacity of Central African governments and field partners to professionally manage and protect their national resources. USFWS works closely with governments, other U.S. agencies, international donors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), wildlife colleges, communities, and a range of other partners to ensure a strategic, results-based approach to wildlife stewardship in Central Africa. Through a competitive process, USFWS provides support where it is needed most and can be applied effectively. Long-term goals of support include: (1) improving site-based wildlife conservation in priority population strongholds in Central Africa; (2) increasing individual and institutional capacity for more effective wildlife protection at the local, national, and regional level including the professionalization of protected area staff; and (3) directly addressing regional and emerging pressures on wildlife including the unsustainable regional trade in wildlife products, transhumance, and zoonotic disease.