North Luangwa National Park is now a Legacy Landscape

The Legacy Landscapes Fund (LLF), launched this spring, is a powerful new financing instrument for protected areas. The new Fund, established by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and KfW in cooperation with NGOs and private donors, aims to guarantee globally significant protected areas with long-term financial stability. The pandemic has shown how important it is for national parks in the tropical zone in particular to have permanent basic funding that is independent of whether tourism in the country flourishes or not.

Early November 2021, the LLF Board has approved funding for the first two protected areas: North Luangwa National Park in Zambia and Madidi National Park in Bolivia. Both will now receive one million US dollars per year for 15 years.

Stefanie Lang, the managing director of the LLF, sees this decision by the Fund’s board of trustees as a first major milestone: “The LLF support on the ground can begin”.

Ed Sayer, FZS Country Director in Zambia welcomes this as an important achievement: “In North Luangwa we are excited to hear that LLF has approved us as one of the first sites, recognizing the value and importance of the landscape in the fight against climate change. Additionally, the landscape is a vital source of employment and revenue for local communities and our joint vision ‘linking livelihoods with the landscape’ is what has held this place together and is the foundation of its future.”

For both areas, North Luangwa and Madidi, the commitment of the LLF is considerable. The money will go towards essential park operations and will secure costs for daily work such as ranger patrols, vehicle repair, and more. All that is necessary to keep a national park running, even in hard times.

The LLF draws financial resources for this support from funds provided by the German federal government and private donors or foundations. To ensure that the funds do not disappear into the state budgets of the respective countries, there must be a non-governmental organization (NGO) as a local partner. In North Luangwa this is the Frankfurt Zoological Society, in Madidi it is the Wildlife Conservation Society.

For FZS Executive Director Dr. Christof Schenck, this is just the beginning: “The first step has now been taken for permanent funding of outstanding protected areas, and other donors and governments must follow the initiative and get involved. Only in this way will we manage to counter the triple crisis of pandemic, biodiversity loss, and climate change.”