CSF was recently awarded $100,000 to expand our trainings, analyses, collaborative field work in Africa, thanks to the generosity of the Handsel Foundation.

This grant comes at a critical time when increasing economic literacy in Africa is crucial as high levels of poverty, population growth, agricultural expansion, deforestation, war and instability plague the region and affect both its people and biodiversity. Against this backdrop, conservation and policy professionals need the skills to articulate the importance of ecosystems in a way that will resonate with communities and decision-makers. With a sound understanding of the economics underlying tourism, agro-forestry, and poaching, decision-makers will be better equipped to account for and articulate the benefits of environmental services such as soil fertility and clean water. And they must be able to address the threats posed by economic development such as dam and road infrastructure, agricultural expansion, and mining projects in a compelling way that shifts the debate from one of conservation versus development to one of “good” development versus “bad” development.

In addition to on-the-ground work in Africa, this grant will fund a handful of scholarships for Southern and Eastern African professionals to attend CSF's Economic Tools for Conservation flagship course this August, located at Stanford University. Applications for the scholarship are due March 31. For more information and to apply, click here.

Pictures above are (counter-clockwise) 1) Course participants from Tanzania and Nigeria at Stanford Course 2013, CA, USA 2) Ferry at a research site in Jinga, Uganda 3) CSF BUILD Program Operations Manager Irene Burgues working in the field in Jinga, Uganda and 4) CSF Economist Rhona Barr taking some measurements with Cheetah Conservation Botswana staff