The idea for this Toolkit was sparked at the International Conference on Nature-Based Tourism in Conservation Areas in Mozambique in June 2018. The conference highlighted the demand by governments and implementing partners for tools and resources to support efforts to create effective partnerships to promote conservation of protected areas and inclusive development. The Toolkit focuses on lessons learned from Africa that can be applied globally.

The Toolkit was prepared under the guidance of Karin Kemper, Global Director, and Christian Peter, Practice Manager, World Bank. Iain Shuker, Practice Manager, World Bank, provided invaluable advice during the concept phase. The Toolkit received financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded Global Wildlife Program (GWP). Various development partners who participated in the conference and others contributed to the GWP knowledge-exchange activities that helped shape the design of the Toolkit. The Toolkit draws on the experiences and engagements of government park and wildlife agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), communities, private landowners, and donors, as well as the published work of Mujon Baghai, Peter Lindsey, David Brugiere, Paul Scholte, Anna Spenceley, Sue Snyman, Kathleen H. Fitzgerald, and numerous co-authors.

The World Bank/GWP team that developed the Toolkit was coordinated by Elisson Wright. Kathleen H. Fitzgerald was the lead author. Wendy Li provided significant input and coordinated the Toolkit’s production. Enos Esikuri was a key contributor to the initial efforts to prioritize focal areas and engagement with government partners. The case studies were developed with direct input from the implementing NGOs and government partners. The Toolkit greatly benefited from contributions from African Parks, African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Gorongosa National Park, Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and other NGOs who contributed case studies and storymaps. In addition, several donors and implementing partners provided guidance and insights from their experiences supporting these partnerships.

We thank the following for their valuable contributions: Jean Labuschagne (African Parks); James Byrne, Greg Carr, Olivia Pereira, Vasco Galante, Marc Stalmans, Grainee Keegan (Gorongosa Project); Sebastien Chatelus (European Commission); Rudolf Specht (German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety); Andy Tobiason, Mary Rowen (USAID); Alexandra Kennaugh (Oak Foundation); Doreen Robinson (UNEP); Daphne Carlson Bremer (USFWS); and Terence Fuh Neba and Ilka Herbinger (WWF).

The team thanks Giles Davies (Conservation Capital), Peter Lindsey (Lion Recovery Fund), and Mujon Baghai (Mujon Baghai Consulting) for their insights and review. In addition, specific sections were reviewed by Brian Samuel, George Ledec, Erik Reed, Nicholas Zmijewski, and Ruth Tiffer-Sotomayor (World Bank). We thank the peer reviewers and other colleagues who supported the Toolkit analysis, editing, and dissemination, in particular, Lisa Farroway, Caroline Eric, Nicola Saporiti, Pablo Benitez, Jean-Michel Pavy, James Blignaut, Nagaraja Rao Harshadeep, Isabel Tellez, Hrishikesh Patel, Alexandra Behr, and Thomas Cohen.

We thank the following for their inputs into the case studies: Jean Labuschagne (African Parks); Steve Collins (The African Safari Foundation); Brian May, Alistair Pole, Tibebu Simegn (AWF); Andrew Parker (Conserve Global); Simon Capon, Evious Mpofu, Hugo Van der Westhuizen (Gonarezhou Conservation Trust); James Byrne, Olivia Felicio Pereira, Marc Stalmans (Gorongosa Project); Chris Roche (independent expert); Eugene Mutangana (Rwanda Development Board); PJ Massyn (RETURNAfrica); Bruce Simpson (Time + Tide); Rodger Schlickeisen (The Wildcat Foundation); Andrew Dunn, Paul Elkan, Geoffrey, Nachamada, Emma Stokes (WCS); Luis Arranz, Céline Dillmann, Ilka Herbinger, Terence Fuh Neba, Nuria Ortega, Jeff Worden (WWF).