The African Conservation Foundation (ACF) is an international

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

established in 1999 and registered in 2001. Its focus is

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

and

habitat conservation Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in term ...

within and outside of

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, adopting an integrated approach which includes

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...

and

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

. The organisation is registered as a

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

, supporting and conducting field conservation projects around

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It also maintains an Africa-wide network for information exchange and

capacity building Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...

of conservation efforts in the region.

Mission

The organisation's mission is "to change the approach of the management and utilization of

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

to one in which the needs of

human development Human development may refer to: * Development of the human body * Developmental psychology * Human development (economics) * Human Development Index, an index used to rank countries by level of human development * Human evolution, the prehistoric ...

in the region are reconciled with

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

conservation".

Conservation approach

ACF works together with a large number of different partners to achieve its mission, including other NGOs, governmental organisations, companies, researchers and local communities. It conducts field projects in close collaboration with local partners, building in-country capacity by providing technical and

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

support. The organisation is involved in wildlife conservation,

great apes The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the east ...

conservation (

Cross River gorilla The Cross River gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla diehli'') is a critically endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla''). It was named a new species in 1904 by Paul Matschie, a mammalian taxonomist working at the Humboldt Univer ...

Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes ellioti'') is a subspecies of the common chimpanzee which inhabits the rainforest along the border of Nigeria and Cameroon. Male Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees can weigh up to 70 kilos with a bo ...

), habitat and

tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fores ...

conservation. It is also running tree planting and

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debate ...

programmes in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, and is a World Elephant Day associate.

Education

Through its website, the organisation provides conservation news and action alerts, information about jobs and volunteer opportunities, and seeks to educate people on conservation issues in Africa. ACF involves volunteers in various aspects of its work, online and in the field.

Campaigns

* Save the Cross River Gorillas

Wildlife art

The African Conservation Foundation is working closely together with Canadian Artist

Daniel Taylor Daniel, Dan, or Danny Taylor may refer to: Sportspeople * Dan Taylor (shot putter) (born 1982), American shot putter * Dan Taylor (cricketer) (1887–1957), South African cricketer * Dan Taylor (footballer, born 1993), English footballer * Dan Tayl ...

on a project called ArtSavingWildlife which aims to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of Africa's most

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

External links

Official Website

References

{{Reflist Nature conservation organisations based in Rwanda Nature conservation in Cameroon Wildlife conservation in Kenya Nature conservation in South Africa Nature conservation in Tanzania Nature conservation in Uganda Animal charities based in the United Kingdom International environmental organizations Wildlife rehabilitation and conservation centers