Protect Africa’s Wild Spaces

Introduction

Africa’s land is under mounting pressure. Across the continent, habitats are being lost to degradation and over-development, and in East and Central Africa the forests that shelter the mountain gorilla are disappearing at an alarming rate. Protecting this land is essential to protecting the wildlife, and the people, who depend on it.

Through its grantmaking and Fiscal Sponsorship Program, Empowers Africa supports organizations working to conserve and restore Africa’s wild spaces. This includes securing crucial wildlife habitat, removing invasive and alien species so land can return to its natural state, protecting wildlife corridors, and educating rural communities on sustainable land use and natural resource management. We support projects that establish and expand conservancies, restore degraded ecosystems, and reduce human-wildlife conflict, creating safe havens where wildlife can thrive for generations to come.

Why Land Conservation Matters

Africa’s landscapes are shaped by the relationship between people, wildlife and the natural systems that sustain them. Forests, grasslands, wetlands and savannas provide food and water, store carbon, support biodiversity and connect populations of wildlife across large areas. As these landscapes become fragmented or degraded, those natural systems become less able to support the people and animals that depend on them.

Protecting land is therefore about more than keeping a piece of wilderness intact. It is about maintaining the ecological processes that allow landscapes to function, while giving wildlife space to move and communities the opportunity to use natural resources sustainably. Securing and restoring these places today helps preserve the foundations on which both conservation and human wellbeing depend for generations to come.