Migratory Greylag geese fly over a wetland at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district, in India's Assam state. On World Wildlife Day and beyond, let’s shift the narrative from dependency to empowerment, from charity to profitability, says the writer.
Image: Biju BORO / AF
Wiseman Ndlovu
EVERY year on March 3, we celebrate World Wildlife Day (WWD) to raise awareness about the importance of wildlife and biodiversity. Since its inception in 2013, WWD has highlighted the critical role wildlife plays in sustaining ecosystems, supporting livelihoods, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, as we mark WWD in 2025, themed “Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet,” it’s time to confront a hard truth: the current funding model for wildlife conservation is fundamentally flawed.
Today, wildlife conservation relies heavily on donor funding, a model that is unsustainable and often counterproductive. While well-intentioned, this approach perpetuates dependency, stifles innovation, and fails to empower local communities as true stewards of their environment. Donor-funded projects are often short-term, project-based, and disconnected from the socio-economic realities of the people living alongside wildlife. This creates a cycle where conservation is seen as an external imposition rather than a shared responsibility.
Moreover, the lack of business modelling in wildlife economies means that conservation efforts are rarely self-sustaining. Donor funding is treated as the primary lifeline, rather than a seed to grow viable, profit-driven enterprises. This approach ignores a fundamental principle of human nature: people are driven by survival and profit. If wildlife conservation is to succeed, it must align with these motives, embedding socio-economic needs at its core.
The solution lies in reimagining wildlife conservation as a by-product of thriving businesses rather than its primary goal. Instead of relying on donations, we should focus on building “profitable wildlife-based enterprises” that meet human needs while delivering conservation benefits. This approach leverages capitalism’s profit motive as a powerful tool for change.
For example, businesses centred on sustainable wildlife tourism, eco-friendly agriculture, or wildlife-based products can generate revenue while protecting ecosystems. When communities see tangible economic benefits from conserving wildlife, they become active participants in its protection. This creates a stick-and-carrot approach: the carrot of profit incentivizes conservation, while the stick of economic loss discourages harmful practices like poaching or habitat destruction.
To build a sustainable wildlife economy, we must prioritise profitability first, ensuring investments flow to wildlife enterprises that demonstrate cashflow and profitability in the short, medium, and long term, with donor funding serving as seed capital to kickstart ventures rather than a perpetual crutch. Central to this approach is community ownership, empowering local communities as business owners and managers to align conservation with their survival and prosperity.
Leveraging innovative financing tools like stokvels, carbon credits, Debt-for-Nature swaps, Wildlife Conservation Bonds, and Payments for Ecosystem Services can attract investments and scale conservation efforts.
For instance, Stokvels are traditional community-based savings and investment groups, particularly popular in South Africa. Members pool their resources and collectively invest in ventures that benefit the group. This model can be adapted to fund wildlife-based businesses, such as eco-tourism lodges, sustainable agriculture, or wildlife product enterprises. Tapping into the power of collective investment, “Stokvels” stand to provide a grassroots financing mechanism that is inclusive, scalable, and community driven.
Additionally, businesses should focus on market-driven solutions that address consumption and survival needs—such as food, housing, and medicine—while embedding conservation into their operations, ensuring that what is useful will be taken care of. This holistic strategy creates a self-sustaining system where economic success and environmental protection go hand in hand.
Human beings are inherently survival and profit driven. In aligning wildlife conservation with these instincts, we create a self-sustaining system where economic success and environmental protection go hand in hand. This approach not only addresses the urgent need for biodiversity conservation but also tackles poverty, unemployment, and inequality in communities dependent on wildlife resources.
On World Wildlife Day and beyond, let’s shift the narrative from dependency to empowerment, from charity to profitability. The high-level event at the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva will be a platform to explore these innovative financial solutions. By showcasing successful business models and fostering collaboration between governments, civil society, and the private sector, we can unlock the true potential of wildlife economies.
The time has come to move beyond traditional conservation funding and embrace a business-driven approach that invests in people and the planet. After all, what is useful will be taken care of — and what is profitable will thrive. It, therefore, remains paramount that we build a future where wildlife conservation is not a burden but a natural outcome of thriving, sustainable businesses.
Dr Ndlovu is a postdoctoral research fellow and programme manager at the African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University.