Environmental NGOs come together to work with government

Photo Credit: WWF

In times of national and global instability, partnerships are more important than ever. Recognising this, the Environmental NGO Collaboration (the Collaboration) is a group of 30 environmental NGOs that have come together to strategically align their impact in advancing South Africa’s environmental conservation goals.

This includes supporting the government in achieving South Africa’s commitment to the Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3, which is to conserve 30% of the world’s biodiversity on land and in the ocean by 2030 – also known as the ‘30×30 target’.

WILDTRUST has been appointed as the executant and funding manager, providing administrative and co-ordination support, together with secretariat and steering committee members from the Peace Parks Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, WESSA, WWF-SA, Conservation Strategy Fund, the IUCN and the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (CONTRALESA).

‘Operating from a shared platform ensures that the perspectives and recommendations of all the participating conservation organisations are presented for decision-making and policy development. It is far more impactful to engage with government as 1 voice on sector-level priorities instead of separate and duplicate engagements,’ says WILDTRUST’s Louise Duys, who is the convenor of the Collaboration and part of the secretariat, together with co-chairs Louise Stafford from The Nature Conservancy, and Helena Atkinson from Peace Parks Foundation.

‘We recognise the enormous potential of the Collaboration, and the WWF Nedbank Green Trust (funded by Nedbank) has therefore committed 3 years of funding to this shared platform for it to work together with leadership in government in advancing the environmental sector and socio-economic development,’ says Poovi Pillay, Executive Head of Corporate Social Impact at Nedbank.

‘Having worked alongside the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to develop an implementation plan for 30×30, we look forward to also engaging with the new DFFE Minister Dion George,’ says Duys, ‘to introduce him to the Collaboration, share with him what we do and how we do it, and position the Collaboration as a key partner for government to work with from a skills, capacity and strategic point of view.’

A priority they will be addressing, for example, is the need to increase South Africa’s biodiversity by expanding protected areas on land and at sea. A key component of this is sustainable finance and how to unlock funding from the sector that can be channelled to the right places for the greatest impact.

‘Ideally, we would like to establish a partnership and memorandum of understanding with the DFFE that sees us meeting regularly with the minister to share the Collaboration’s input and priorities as a trusted technical adviser,’ says Duys. ‘Significant global and multilateral funding exists to support South Africa’s environmental goals, but it can only be unlocked if there is strong evidence of actions being taken to achieve the 30×30 target.’

Duys explains the Collaboration was launched in August 2022 – ahead of COP15 in December 2022. At the time, the 30×30 target was on the table and South Africa had not yet signed up for it, but many other countries had. A conversation started among an initial group of 14 NGOs about how we can come together with the common goal of encouraging the South African government to commit to the 30×30 target, which it did at COP 15. Following this, the country quickly moved towards the development of a 30×30 Implementation Plan, becoming one of the first in the world to do so.

‘Key drivers for establishing the Collaboration are that: the NGO sector is not strategically aligned; there is duplication of activities and efforts; and access to local, global and multi- lateral funding is not being optimally coordinated,’ she explains. ‘There are also several smaller community-based organisations on the ground that are not being heard and do not have access to funding. We realised there was a better chance of unlocking synergies and enabling capacity-building if we were to come together.’

Ordinarily sustaining a Collaboration of this nature can be a challenge. The funding received from the WWF Nedbank Green Trust together with match funding from participating organisations enable the ongoing coordination, administration and growth of the Collaboration.

‘We will be holding a priority setting workshop for all the CEOs of participating organisations in the Collaboration,’ says Duys. ‘We are establishing a database of all the conservation NGOs and community-based organisations in South Africa, together with collating the resource and skills contribution of participating organisations towards the conservation of South Africa’s natural environment. We are also developing a website that will lay out our vision and outcomes, which will have links to all the participating organisations and stories from the ground.’

The Collaboration does not charge membership fees because the aim is for as many conservation organisations and community-based organisations to participate, grow and learn from each other. They meet online every second month, the steering committee meets monthly, and outcome task teams meet regularly to monitor progress around their activities.

‘We are encouraging additional NGOs and community-based organisations to join the Collaboration and to add their voice to this shared platform for catalysing change and impact in the sector,’ says Duys. ‘If you would like to get in touch with us, please contact us at louise@wildtrust.co.za.

List of participating environmental NGOs

WILDTRUST; WWF-SA; Biodiversity Law Centre; BirdLife South Africa; Cape Leopard Trust; Conservation Outcomes; Conservation South Africa; Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF); Conserve Global; Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa; Duzi-uMngeni Conservation Trust; Endangered Wildlife Trust; Environmental and Rural Solutions; International Union for Conservation of Nature (Eastern and Southern Africa); GreenMatter; Justice 4 Jaws; Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region; Living Limpopo; Mabula Ground Hornbill Project; Nature Speaks; Ocean Hub; Ocean Research; Peace Parks Foundation; Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds; South African Wildlife College; Sustainable Finance Coalition; The Botanical Society of South Africa; The Nature Conservancy; The Wildlife & Environment Society of South Africa; Wilderness Foundation Africa and Wildlife ACT Fund Trust;.

ends