The European Union has pledged an additional €25 million in funding for the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme (SWM), which has been working with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries since 2017 to help reduce unsustainable wildlife hunting practices, conserve the wildlife of these countries, and strengthen communities' livelihoods and food security.
This funding is additional to the first phase of the initiative, which received €45 million from the European Union, coupled with co-funding from the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM) and the French Development Agency.
The FAO (also known as the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) has welcomed this funding as the second phase of the initiative will run from now until May 2029, part of NaturAfrica, a new initiative designed by the European Union dedicated to the conservation of African Biodiversity.
During this second phase, the FAO will lead a variety of partners, including CIRAD (the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development), CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Of the SWM programme, Maria Helena Semedo, deputy director-general of the FAO, said that it had an important role and contribution to make as the organisation continues to work to create a sustainable and food-secure environment globally.
The programme also contributes to implementing the four betters of the FAO's Strategic Framework for 2022 to 2031 and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Two of the four betters the programme will support and address includes 'better nutrition' and a 'better environment', as the programme aims to promote safe food spanning across wild and domestic meat value chains and through the development of innovative approaches to improve on current practices, build on existing capacities to avoid and reduce zoonotic risks and to protect ecosystems globally.
The partnership will work with administrations at a national and regional level over 80 local and indigenous communities across 16 countries. The initiative is geared towards further strengthening practices. It approaches to protect and conserve wild animals and to protect ecosystems while simultaneously improving the livelihoods of those who depend on these resources, as many rural populations globally rely on wildlife for food, income, and cultural identity.
The FAO emphasised that wild meat is an essential protein, fat and micronutrient source. The increased demand for wild meat, especially in urban areas, has threatened many aspects of integral parts of the community. This includes the wildlife population, the balance of the ecosystem and the food security of indigenous and rural communities in tropical and subtropical regions. The SWM Programme aims to address these concerns.
The initiative is designed to help improve wild animal populations through sustainable and legal use through participatory hunting, fishing and wildlife management. It plans on lowering unsustainable sourcing of wildmeat consumption in urban communities by encouraging healthy and sustainable livestock, poultry and fish farming value chains.
