National Parks Conservation and Management Project

The project will conserve the biodiversity of the globally-significant Pendjari and "W" national parks and their adjacent hunting areas and buffer zones in northern Benin. This will be achieved by : (i) increasing the conservation management capacity of Benin's National Center for Wildlife Management; (ii) developing alternative community livelihood schemes to take pressure off the parks' natural resources; (iii) improving baisc infrastructure within the parks; (iv) expanding environmental awareness and education; and (v) developing a conservation trust fund to provide sustainable financing for conservation programs. It will also strengthen regional collaboration on management of the transborder semi-arid savanna ecosystem of which the target areas are a part.