In an exclusive interview with Edwin Tambara, Director of Global Leadership at the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and recipient of the Financial Times Sustainable Futures Award, Right for Education explores the transformative concept of biodiversity economies. By placing nature at the heart of economic decision-making, AWF is redefining sustainable development, striking a balance between conservation and economic growth. Tambara provides insights into the challenges and triumphs of integrating biodiversity into national planning, the immense potential of eco-tourism and nature-based enterprises, and his ambitious vision for Africa’s conservation future. Through innovative frameworks and inclusive collaborations, AWF demonstrates how Africa’s abundant natural heritage can fuel job creation, enhance livelihoods, and become a foundational pillar of sustainable development.
R:Ed: Can you share the vision that drives AWF’s biodiversity economies initiative and what first inspired you personally to work in conservation and sustainable development?
Edwin Tambara: AWF drives its Biodiversity Economies initiative with a vision to transform Africa’s rich biodiversity into a source of sustainable economic growth while ensuring the conservation of its natural heritage. The initiative seeks to build a data-driven approach to integrating biodiversity into economic planning and development, highlighting that ecosystems and wildlife are not only ecological treasures but also valuable economic assets. This vision is rooted in the belief that the conservation of nature must be tied to the aspirations of Africans and must leveraged to create jobs, boost local livelihoods, and contribute to national revenues, all while promoting environmental sustainability. Conservation is the driving force.
A community member living and working adjacent to the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. Nature-based tourism contributes 80% of Rwanda’s tourist revenue, creating over 1,000 jobs for every $1 million generated. Photo Credit: AWF
R:Ed: What have been some of the most significant challenges and successes in these partnerships, especially in aligning conservation goals with economic agendas?
Edwin Tambara: The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and its conservation partners are navigating multifaceted challenges yet have achieved significant progress in aligning conservation objectives with economic priorities across Africa. A persistent obstacle has been transforming the entrenched perception of conservation as conflicting with development. This outdated view often frames conservation as a fiscal burden rather than recognizing its untapped potential to drive economic growth, enhance societal well-being, and build resilient communities. Compounding this challenge is the lack of accessible, robust data demonstrating the tangible contributions of biodiversity to livelihoods and economic growth—an essential tool for influencing policymakers and stakeholders. Furthermore, balancing the immediate socio-economic needs of local communities with long-term conservation goals remains inherently complex, especially given historic practices that have marginalized and alienated communities from nature, eroding trust and collaboration.
Despite these hurdles, AWF has taken bold steps to redefine conservation in Africa through a people-centered approach. This model places local communities at the heart of conservation strategies, emphasizing their role as stewards of biodiversity and ensuring their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). By fostering trust and co-creating solutions that link conservation to tangible socio-economic benefits, AWF has successfully advanced interventions that catalyze both environmental resilience and economic prosperity. This dual focus addresses the interconnected challenges of biodiversity loss and socio-economic inequity, offering a transformative vision for conservation as a foundation for sustainable development in Africa.
R:Ed: Biodiversity economies involve multiple sub-sectors, from eco-tourism to wildlife research and carbon credits. Among these, which do you see as the most promising for rapid growth, and how do you envision AWF balancing economic activities with the need for conservation?
Edwin Tambara: Eco-tourism remains the most developed and well-known subsector of the biodiversity economy. However, in many African countries, it has yet to reach its full potential, leaving significant room for growth. As nations make strides in infrastructure and service sectors, opportunities emerge to diversify and expand eco-tourism offerings. Developing products that cater to domestic and mid-market international tourists can complement the current focus on high-end travellers, creating a more inclusive and resilient eco-tourism sector. In addition to eco-tourism, other critical subsectors of the biodiversity economy are gaining attention for their growth potential. Nature credits and payment for ecosystem services (PES) represent promising opportunities, particularly if global agreements on climate change and national frameworks establish conducive policies to support their development. Beyond these, biodiversity economies also encompass biodiversity-based products and value chains in sectors like non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and bioprospecting for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and other industries. These subsectors highlight the untapped potential of sustainable natural resource use to drive innovation and economic diversification while promoting conservation outcomes. By developing these subsectors, countries can unlock new economic pathways that create jobs, enhance livelihoods, preserve biodiversity, and contribute to broader sustainable development goals.
Fishermen along Zambezi River, Zimbabwe. According to the Zimbabwe Biodiversity Report, Fisheries in Zimbabwe generated an estimated $250 Million in 2019 and has been increasing significantly. Photo Credit: AWF
R:Ed: Given that biodiversity-based economic activities are often under-represented in national accounts, how does AWF work with governments to incorporate these activities? Are there specific financial tools or policy frameworks you advocate to give biodiversity economies greater weight in national and international financial systems?
Edwin Tambara: Ecosystems and biodiversity are the foundation of many critical economic sectors. These natural systems provide essential ecosystem goods, such as raw materials for agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and ecosystem services that sustain industries like water supply, energy production, and tourism. While this fundamental truth is now widely acknowledged by communities, policymakers, and economic decision-makers, the challenge lies in turning this understanding into concrete actions that fully integrate ecosystems and biodiversity into these sectors. AWF is at the forefront of advocating for integrated planning, ensuring that growth in agriculture, mining, energy, and other industries incorporates robust safeguards and financing mechanisms. In landscape programs, AWF is working closely with private sector companies operating there to integrate safeguards, and production models that help protect ecosystems and biodiversity. Overall these approaches not only drive conservation but also secure long-term sustainability, aligning economic development with environmental stewardship. In this regard, AWF is supporting increased and improved use of financial tools like nature credits, payment for ecosystem services (PES), and blended finance models, conservation bonds that attract private investment while safeguarding biodiversity is critical. Policy frameworks should integrate biodiversity into national accounting systems, such as natural capital accounting, and incentivize sustainable practices through tax benefits or subsidies. Embedding biodiversity considerations in climate finance mechanisms and opening markets for biodiversity-based products in trade agreements is also critical to elevating biodiversity economies and their potential for rural development and economic growth.
The first community-owned lodge in Rwanda, Sabinyo Silverback Lodge, was developed by AWF to improve livelihoods and actualize a people-centered conservation approach. Photo Credit: AWF
R:Ed: Looking to the future, what is your vision for biodiversity economies as an economic pillar in Africa? If successful, what do you think Africa’s conservation landscape will look like a decade from now?
Edwin Tambara: By integrating conservation into economic growth, AWF envisions biodiversity economies as a key component of Africa’s sustainable development. Africa could see ecosystems and wildlife contributing significantly to national GDPs through mechanisms like eco-tourism, carbon credit markets, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy projects. Moreover, nature-based enterprises have the potential to create jobs, while wild foods can enhance food security and nutrition. If this vision is realised, Africa’s conservation landscapes will feature thriving ecosystems that support productive activities such as agriculture, mining, and energy development, while maintaining habitats, wildlife corridors and dispersal areas. Flourishing wildlife populations will co-exist with empowered and thriving communities that actively manage and profit from their natural resources, ensuring long-term ecological health and economic prosperity.
R:Ed: What advice would you give to other leaders and organizations working in the intersection of conservation and economic development, especially those aiming to create impact in Africa? Are there key lessons you’ve learnt that have shaped AWF’s approach?
Edwin Tambara: Conservation is a way of life for Africans, people should think of the impact it has had, still has and will continue to have going forward. Our natural ecosystems are an asset to Africa, with that said Africa has to conserve these ecosystems and use them as a springboard for climate mitigation adaptation and economic growth. Conservation interventions, particularly those linking the sector to economic growth, must be driven by and secure strong buy-in from local stakeholders and key decision-makers. Every African country needs to develop an annual biodiversity economy outlook. This report would offer reliable data on the status of biodiversity and its contributions to economic growth, focusing on key metrics such as revenue generation, job creation, exports, sector investments, growth opportunities, and investment potential. It would also identify key actors, policy frameworks, and incentives necessary to drive sustainable growth, positioning biodiversity as a strategic economic pillar. Such an initiative would foster cross-learning among nations and stakeholders, improving approaches and optimizing the economic contributions of biodiversity economies across the continent.
R:Ed: Finally, if there’s one thing you hope African countries and the world to take away from AWF’s biodiversity economies initiative, what would that be?
Edwin Tambara: Biodiversity economies have emerged as a transformative tool, enabling conservationists to engage beyond traditional sectors and influence decision-makers in finance, economic planning, spatial planning, and other critical areas of the economy. I urge organizations and multilateral institutions to step forward with technical support, funding, and investment to drive biodiversity economies forward, ensuring they become a cornerstone of sustainable development across Africa and beyond.
