Several baby rhinos have been born since the project’s inception, including one that has been named after Satu. As of November 2024, the black rhino population has grown at an average annual rate of 7.65%, surpassing project targets.
A similar story is unfolding in KwaZulu-Natal province—a region of diverse ecology and natural beauty and host to the 1.3 million-hectare iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
“In the poorest parts of the world, people are depending on nature for their livelihoods, especially in rural areas,” explains Lisa Farroway, Program Manager for the Global Wildlife Program. “The Global Wildlife Program makes the investment case clear: investing in wildlife and nature is not only good for the environment—it’s an engine for economic growth and job creation.”
Despite the abundance of nature, people in the region face serious economic challenges, with a high poverty rate, few formal employment opportunities, and geographic isolation. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened these vulnerabilities as tourism levels dropped, shuttering many dependent businesses and increasing pressure on natural resources for subsistence.
“When the tourists stopped coming, businesses began to close. Lodges shut down, people lost their jobs,” explains Lucia Motloung, Project Manager with South Africa’s Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries. “Now, we are rebounding.”
To safeguard this rebound, South Africa’s Catalyzing Financing and Capacity for the Biodiversity Economy around Protected Areas Project is working to enhance the country’s stewardship of its rich natural resources and bolster its wildlife economy. With support from the World Bank-led Global Wildlife Program (funded by the Global Environment Facility), the project operates in KwaZulu-Natal’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park, in addition to protected areas in Limpopo and Eastern Cape provinces, with the aim of addressing rural unemployment, inequality, and poverty.
The project is creating jobs and diversifying income for local communities through nature-based tourism, sustainable agriculture, and local business development. The construction of new infrastructure such as hiking trails, lodging, conference centers, and other tourism facilities will provide hospitality jobs and support local businesses. For the fishing communities that dot iSimangaliso’s eastern seaboard, the project provides boats and safety equipment that will be used to support tourism activities. In total, across all project areas, the project expects to support 90 micro and small businesses with starting or expanding operations.
In addition, the project seeks to support conservation while maximizing benefits to communities, with a target of expanding protected areas across project sites by nearly 27,000 hectares.
A participatory approach ensures buy-in from the local communities, too. The government regularly engages tribal authorities regarding project activities, which often take place on tribal lands.
Young South Africans are also engaging in the revitalization. As Lucia Motloung explains, “You go on Instagram, and you see young people who are starting to embrace ecotourism and spread the word about iSimangaliso. These influencers are really making it fashionable!”
Investments in protected areas, like in iSimangaliso, can yield local economic benefits for rural communities. The World Bank estimates that for every dollar governments invest in protected areas and nature-based tourism, the rate of return is at least six times the original investment, boosting jobs in these places.
In 38 countries across the world, the Global Wildlife Program works to promote wildlife-based economies, including through nature-based tourism, while addressing threats to wildlife, such as illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade, human-wildlife conflict, and zoonotic spillover risk.
As one of the largest multilateral financiers of nature, the World Bank provides the finance, knowledge, and innovation needed to drive change in the face of declining nature and wildlife globally. The Bank also work with countries like South Africa to build wildlife economies that put rural communities on the pathway to prosperity.
