Half of the world’s gross domestic product ($44 trillion) depends on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Animal, plant, and marine biodiversity comprise the "natural capital" that keeps our ecosystems functional and economies productive and provides the foundation of human well-being. This biodiversity and the ecosystem services it delivers are under severe threat and currently face losses both material and systemic.

Well-funded, socially inclusive, and competently managed protected areas (PAs) are the most effective tools to conserve biodiversity (Sanderson 2018). PAs also are an integral part of national development and green recovery strategies and play a critical role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Well-managed PAs can provide security, governance, stability, and economic development for under-served and resource-strapped communities and help bolster ecological and social resilience.

Despite the ecological, social, and economic value of PAs, PAs are grossly under-valued and under-funded (Lindsey et al. 2021). Governments generally lack the resources and ability to effectively manage such important natural assets, putting PAs and their economic development and environmental benefits at risk. New and innovation solutions and partnerships are needed to prevent biodiversity loss and enhance resiliency.

Collaborative management partnerships (CMPs), a type of public-private partnership used in the conservation sector, are increasingly being deployed globally to enhance PA management effectiveness and bolster green growth strategies . CMPs involve a PA authority (government, private, community) entering a contractual arrangement with a partner (private or non-governmental organizations) for the management of a PA (Baghai 2018). There are three types of CMPs: (i) financial and technical support, (ii) co-management, and (iii) delegated management. All three types of CMPs play an important role in supporting governments in PA management and development.

CMPs may not be appropriate for all countries and all PAs, but in many parts of the world, CMPs can be part of a broader array of tools for conserving biodiversity and attracting investment in inclusive rural development and green growth. A key benefit CMPs offer is potential for additional funding to support conservation of critical PAs. Researchers found that the median funding for PAs in Africa with CMPs is 2.6 times greater than the baseline of state funding for co-management CMPs, and 14.6 times greater for delegated CMPs (Lindsey et al 2021). While different CMP models are used globally, CMPs offer a particular opportunity for Africa. As more countries across Africa cope with challenges related to limited fiscal space, high debt levels exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, and the impact of climate change, many governments are increasingly looking for new business models and partnership arrangements to help meet development and conservation objectives. CMPs can be considered to support national strategic landscape management approaches where governments are interested in bringing on partners to enhance management of PAs and create an enabling environment for investment and green development.

In Africa, 15 governments have established 40 co-management and delegated CMPs with 13 NGOs, covering approximately 11.5 percent of Africa’s PA estate. An analysis of these 40 CMPs shows they have successfully attracted investments that enhanced biodiversity conservation, created local jobs, generated revenues, and stimulated green development.

There is increasing demand in Africa for two types of CMPs (co-management and delegated management) as they offer greater potential for systemic change in delivering conservation and development outcomes. Therefore, this Toolkit focuses on co-management and delegated CMPs, and provides tools and resources intended to support the design and implementation of these partnerships. To date, the majority of the CMPs in Africa are between governments and NGOs; thus, the Toolkit mostly focuses on partnerships with NGOs. The tools and resources included in the Toolkit can be leveraged for partnerships with communities, the private sector, and other stakeholders.

The Toolkit is designed to help governments, implementing partners, and other key stakeholders better understand the role of CMPs and key features of different models, and to learn lessons from countries that have implemented partnerships. The Toolkit features case studies that document experiences across Africa over the last two decades, and provides detailed information and technical resources that government leaders and implementing partners can leverage to support the establishment of CMPs. The Toolkit aims to assess CMP models, serve as a reference guide for governments and implementing partners considering CMPs, and raise awareness of CMP experiences in Africa to highlight benefits, challenges, and lessons learned. While the case studies and lessons in the Toolkit are derived from national PAs in Africa, it can be applied to private and community PAs and to PAs around the world.

CMPs are one way to drive investments to PAs and generate jobs and income for local communities in rural areas that often have limited development options and have been pushed further into poverty due to the impacts of COVID-19 . During the COVID pandemic, PAs in Africa without CMPs struggled to maintain core operations and in some cases reduced staff, budgets, and salaries, which in some places led to a spike in illegal encroachment and poaching of wildlife. The 40 CMPs documented in the Toolkit successfully maintained operations throughout the COVID crisis, did not reduce staff or salaries, and in most cases, provided additional support to help communities withstand the COVID crisis. For CMPs to succeed, they require sustained political commitment, long-term financial resources, effective local engagement, and an enabling environment that supports a transparent and clear process for establishing the partnerships.

The Toolkit will be enhanced over time with additional insights and technical resources as more governments, communities, private landowners, private sector, and NGO partners increase collaboration and enter into long-term CMP contracts . As additional efforts are made to foster a green economic recovery following COVID-19 and to meet conservation and climate commitments, new experiences and approaches will be tested to increase the value of public environmental assets that deliver local and global environmental, social, and economic benefits. These experiences can contribute to systematic learning of CMPs and other partnership models as additional countries embark on this journey. Governments and NGO partners should collect and share lessons learned, including challenges and mistakes, so that future partnerships can benefit from their experiences and knowledge.

The Toolkit consists of three sections. The first includes relevant background information on the state of PAs and biodiversity in Africa, and the role of CMPs in addressing some of these challenges. The second section provides detailed steps and tools for establishing CMPs. The third section highlights environmental and social issues and recommendations for future work (see Table ES.1).

Table - ES.1 Overview of the CMP Toolkit

Sections / Chapters	Content
I.          The Value of Collaborative Management Partnerships
Chapter I. Why protected areas are critical for conservation	Provides an overview of the status of biodiversity, the significant role of PAs in biodiversity conservation, the biodiversity funding gap, and the state of PA management effectiveness in Africa, and outlines the purpose and target audience of the Toolkit.
Chapter 2. The benefits and challenges of CMPs	Explores the lessons learned from other public-private partnership sectors, opportunities, and the benefit of CMPs, and challenges with the adoption, establishment, and management of CMPs.
Chapter 3. CMP models and principles	Describes the different CMP models and the strengths and weakness of each model, the best practice principles for successful CMPs, and the status of CMPs in Africa.
II.       How to Establish Collaborative Management Partnerships
Chapter 4.  Identifying and screening CMP opportunities	Includes a decision-making framework for governments considering CMPs and the five key steps for identifying suitable PAs and the appropriate CMP model.
Chapter 5.  Preparing for and establishing CMPs	Outlines a nine-step process for establishing a CMP, from the feasibility study phase to contracting.
III.      Cross-Cutting Issues for Collaborative Management Partnerships
Chapter 6.  Considering environmental and social standards in CMPs	Highlights the key factors governments and partners need to consider around environmental and social standards throughout the CMP process, from identification to management.
Chapter 7. Recommendations for strengthening CMPs	Conclusions and recommendations for future research and analytical work in this area.
Appendices	Appendices provide tools, resources, and additional information discussed in the Toolkit, including case studies on existing CMPs in Africa and checklists.