Conserving wildlife and habitats requires teams to collaborate across borders and tackle international wildlife trafficking collectively. The Global Wildlife Program (GWP), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by the World Bank, recently completed a series of “twinning” exchanges, pairing projects from six countries to strengthen collaboration and share solutions for wildlife conservation challenges.
GWP projects in Bhutan, Chad, Colombia, Panama, South Africa, and Uganda exchanged knowledge and best practices, enhancing the program’s collective impact on protecting wildlife and supporting local communities. By working together, these countries aim to address threats that cross national boundaries, including wildlife crime, habitat loss, and human-wildlife conflict.
In Colombia and Panama, the focus was on protecting jaguars and connecting fragmented habitats. Representatives from government agencies, community organizations, and conservation foundations discussed strategies for ecological connectivity, community engagement, and cross-border collaboration. A proposed binational agreement will consolidate conservation efforts, while the recently adopted Regional Action Plan for Jaguar Conservation provides a framework for implementation.
Chad and South Africa collaborated to combat wildlife crime, sharing approaches to legal frameworks, enforcement strategies, and institutional structures. By learning from South Africa’s integrated strategy to prevent trafficking and prosecute wildlife crimes, Chad identified measures to strengthen its own framework and enhance cross-border cooperation in tackling organized wildlife crime.
Bhutan and Uganda focused on integrating habitat conservation with nature-based tourism. Bhutanese delegates studied Uganda’s community-driven ecotourism initiatives, revenue-sharing models, and strategies for managing human-wildlife conflict. Lessons learned from Uganda’s experience are being adapted to expand Bhutan’s tourism offerings while supporting conservation, local livelihoods, and community engagement.
The twinning initiative has accelerated knowledge transfer across GWP projects, enabling countries to replicate successful solutions and foster international collaboration for global wildlife conservation. As the initiative moves into its next phase, more projects will continue to strengthen partnerships and amplify conservation impact worldwide.
