The Status of Conservation Education in Africa

Abstract

There are 5 global eco-regions regarded as top conservation priorities in Africa, and each one has a center for conservation studies. Established in 1962, the College of Wildlife Management at Mweka, Tanzania, has trained more than 5000 wildlife managers from 52 countries till date in the Eastern Arc Montane eco-region. The Upper and Lower Guinea eco-region is represented by the Sapo Conservation Center (SCC) in the eponymous National Park in Liberia and the A.P. Levenits Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI), Jos, Nigeria. The SCC offers training programs of up to 2 weeks duration, 2 to 3 times a year for students and academic instructors from the University of Liberia, Monrovia, Forestry Training Institute, Tubmanburg and Nimba County Community College, Nimba. The APLORI, founded in 2002, is a premier institute of ornithological research and conservation training in West Africa, and 66 graduates have left its portals to take up crucial responsibilities in the government, civil society and academia in Africa. The Cape Fynbos eco-region famed for its restioid, ericoid and proteoid components hosts the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) for training managers and conservationists in diverse fields such as such as nature-based tourism, trans-frontier conservation area management and capacity building at the community level. SAWC is situated in South Africa in a natural low veld environment, 10km west of the Orpen Gate of the Kruger National Park. The Albertine Rift Montane eco-region with flagship endangered species such as the Mountain and Eastern Lowland gorillas, saw the launch of a conservation primary school in Ilima, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in September 2013; building 14 other unique primary schools over a period of 10 years in key landscapes in Africa is a commitment of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). Last but not the least, the Ethiopian highlands eco-region, houses species like the Ethiopian wolf and is served by the Wondo Genet College of Forestry in southern Ethiopia to train conservation professionals in the Horn of Africa region and beyond.