Key takeaways from the Business of Conservation Conference, Rwanda
LT&C had the pleasure to host a parallel session at the Business of Conservation Conference in Rwanda. The African Leadership University (ALU) with its School of Wildlife Conservation was the host of the conference and is a remarkable institution pioneering a new approach of developing leadership in Africa, very impact and mission driven, addressing the key challenges of the continent.
The conference had numerous high-quality and inspiring speakers, an award ceremony for the unsung heroes of conservation and the afternoons included side events (among them ours) discussing a wide range of different topics around the Wildlife Economy.
Our solution room focused on our African LT&C Examples, with Peace Mutoni and Ben Taylor presenting Red Rocks Rwanda and Chumbe Island Zanzibar respectively, and hosting a discussion with attendees around the challenges and opportunities to replicate and scale up ecotourism best practices in Africa. Some of the key points that attendees (sustainable tourism experts, ecolodge and tour operator representatives, young entrepreneurs, journalists) pointed out were around measurement, in identifying and making use of existing suitable verification criteria, addressing supply chains and sustainable infrastructure, and fostering more collaboration across the industry, such as the African Changemakers partnership which is a trade partnership collecting funds in a crisis fund that supports conservation where needed.
Equity and purpose
Gender equality in conservation
Resilience
Education
