Conservation social networking, ecotourism and land-use planning in Maputaland.

Donors/Funders: 
Darwin Initiative; UK Government
Implementers: 
KUWUKA JDA; All Out Africa; Universidade de Eduardo Mondlane; University of Eswatini; Administração Nacional das Áreas de Conservação; Swaziland National Trust Commission; Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife; Izele Community Interest Company
Objectives: 
1. Increased promotion of state, private and community conservation areas, and increased capacity to share news, information and expertise with practitioners, stakeholders and visitors, by expanding the Izele online social network to include the Mozambique and Swaziland sections of Maputaland. 2. Increased visitor numbers and tourist revenue for conservation area- and community-based ecotourism in Maputaland, as well as building future revenue through increased awareness, by adding ecotourism enterprises to the Maputaland online social network in Izele. 3. Updated Maputaland conservation planning system and new regional zoning plans that identify priority areas for conservation and community-based ecotourism, and are designed to inform land-use planning, national and international conservation investment strategies and the ongoing expansion of Maputaland’s state-, private- and community-managed conservation area network. 4. Building capacity so that conservation practitioners in Maputaland can use the Izele online social network and transfrontier conservation planning system, through in-person training and by developing online materials that can also be used by the global conservation community.

We will produce a transfrontier online social network and a stakeholder-led conservation planning system for Maputaland, a biodiversity hotspot in southern Africa. The social network will give an online voice to the region’s state-, private- and community-led conservation areas and ecotourism enterprises, letting them share news and information, publicising their work and boosting jobs by increasing tourism. The planning system will identify priority areas for conservation and community-based ecotourism that maintain biodiversity and local livelihoods.

Specific Area (Village, Town, District, Province): 
Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa
HQ of the Initiative: 
Canterbury, UK
Timeframe: 
2018 to 2022
Is the timeframe likely to be extended?: 
No
Budget: 
407000.00
Currency: 
USD
Thematic Focus: 
Integrated Land Use Planning & Implementation, NR Protect & Mgt, Research, Tourism
1st Contact Name: 
Bob Smith
1st Contact Email: 
2nd Contact Name: 
Hermenegildo Matimele
2nd Contact Email: