How the US foreign aid freeze threatens African conservation work

The Trump administration’s 90-day freeze and stop-work order of U.S. foreign aid could seriously cripple the work of Kenyan environmental conservation organizations, according to conservationists in the country, with impacts likely to extend across the continent. For decades, the U.S. Agency for International Development has played a critical role in supporting African conservation efforts, particularly initiatives that support local groups to manage and protect biodiversity. “I would say that over the past 40 years — going back at least to the 1990s, so let's say 35 years — USAID has been a key funder of community-based conservation, particularly in Africa,” said Fred Nelson, chief executive officer of Maliasili, an organization based in Kenya and the U.S. that supports African conservation groups. In FY 2023, USAID allocated $375.4 million to global biodiversity programs, with $78.1 million specifically dedicated to combating wildlife trafficking. These funds have been crucial in preventing poaching and the illegal trade of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine species, according to USAID. However, the recent stop-work order has frozen the implementation of USAID-funded activities worldwide. While a waiver was later approved for “life-saving humanitarian assistance,” most longer-term global development activities including conservation efforts are not expected to qualify. During the 90-day pause, all programs will be scrutinized to ensure they align with U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, with an eye toward cutting spending that his administration deems ineffective or wasteful. After that programs will be allowed to continue, modified, or cut altogether. Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax,” and his new administration has made it clear that it intends to roll back climate programming. Biodiversity loss and climate change are deeply interconnected, with deforestation and ecosystem destruction accelerating global warming, while rising temperatures and extreme weather further threaten species and habitats. However, even a temporary pause in U.S. funding disbursements is having disastrous effects on organizations’ cash flow, and there is worry many of them won’t survive. Conservationists warn that if this funding does not come back after the freeze, there could be far-reaching consequences given that this is happening at a time when biodiversity loss and climate change are accelerating. “We are at an important and urgent time in terms of the biodiversity crisis, the climate crisis, and the economic implications,” Nelson said. “The current freeze threatens to erode gains made, weaken local institutions funded by USAID, and further expose wildlife to illegal trade and poaching—at a time when many programs are still recovering from the impacts of COVID-19,” said Dickson Kaelo, founding CEO of the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association, a national umbrella body for wildlife conservancies that receives USAID funding. In Kenya, where conservation is closely linked to the tourism economy, the funding freeze could undermine local conservation groups’ ability to protect endangered species and support livelihoods. However, in countries with less-developed wildlife tourism sectors and weaker mechanisms to enforce crimes against wildlife and nature, the consequences could be even more stark. In Mozambique, for example, USAID has been supporting efforts to help local governments strengthen the prosecution of wildlife crimes — work that could now be in jeopardy. One conservationist, who declined to be identified because they did not have authorization to speak publicly, noted that USAID had also provided funding for initiatives focused on Indigenous inclusion and representation — critical elements of community-based conservation. Without this support, efforts to ensure that conservation is equitable and locally driven could falter. In recent years, funding for conservation by international groups across the board has increased, in part due to the growing recognition of the links between biodiversity and climate change. This has unlocked new sources of climate finance. But that connection may not hold under the current U.S. administration. This may end up changing — needing to be uncoupled again — in the context of the priorities of the current administration. “Conservation has a strong bipartisan constituency in the U.S. … but climate funding is facing an uncertain environment there,” Nelson added. Indeed, in December, Congress passed the U.S. Foundation for International Conservation Act, which establishes a public-private partnership to support conservation efforts. The bill authorizes $100 million in federal funding annually, which can only be provided if private donors contribute at least twice that amount. Kaelo told Devex that he hoped that the U.S. government would move quickly to unfreeze USAID funding. “We urge the President of America to reconsider the decision, and allow for ongoing conservation work to progress as planned. In the conservation of biodiversity, time is of essence so we do not lose species or threaten community livelihoods.”