The Global Environment Facility (GEF) 6 Governance Guidelines development workshop recently kicked off to a vibrant and lively start. Facilitated by Conservation Synergies and supported by project partners, the workshop forms a critical milestone within the broader GEF-6 Partnership Programme in the Greater Kruger Landscape. The programme, part of the Global Environment Facility’s sixth funding cycle, focuses on strengthening protected area management while promoting community-led conservation, improved governance systems, and sustainable livelihoods.Â
Within this context, the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) plays a key role as an implementing and capacity-building partner. Through its expertise in training, facilitation, and applied conservation practice, the College supports stakeholder engagement processes and the co-development of tools—such as these Governance Guidelines—that aim to strengthen community participation, accountability, and long-term conservation outcomes.Â
The sessions provided a vital platform to collaboratively advance the Governance Guidelines—one of the project’s penultimate deliverables—by reflecting, aligning, and contributing towards approaches that strengthen community participation, accountability, and sustainable conservation outcomes.Â
A Community-First Approach to Security
Held from 17 to 19 February 2026 at the College, the three-day workshop was built upon a profound core insight: security is a single system. If a landscape is insecure for its people, it is fundamentally insecure for its wildlife.Â
To effectively address this, the process was deliberately structured with a “community-first” design. During the first two days, 52 participants—primarily community representatives from the North, Central, and South GEF-6 clusters—were given a protected space to candidly discuss their lived realities without top-down institutional influence. Through powerful role-plays and group discussions, the representatives unpacked pressing local challenges, including gender-based violence, livestock theft, and environmental crimes such as sand mining and poaching.Â
Pivoting to Solutions
Rather than dwelling solely on these systemic challenges, the agenda deliberately pivoted towards an Appreciative Inquiry approach. By focusing on past successes and examining historical instances where communities effectively protected their people, property, or wildlife, participants were able to distil the core “ingredients for success”. This strengths-based reflection empowered the groups to envision a five-year future where local safety is managed through transparent, community-led governance.Â
Building the Blueprint
Only after the communities had thoroughly framed this conversation were formal institutional stakeholders invited to join the discussions on the third day. Representatives from South African National Parks (SANParks), the Peace Parks Foundation, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, and various Non-Governmental Organisations stepped in to align their technical expertise with the newly established local priorities.Â
Together, this collaborative group drafted the Greater Kruger Community Governance Charter. This roadmap outlines non-negotiable principles for the landscape, including universal accountability, inclusive decision-making, transparent communication, and a strict zero-tolerance stance on corruption.Â
The engagement proved highly effective. Post-workshop surveys revealed that 70% of participants left with a clearer understanding of the links between governance, safety, and security, while another 70% committed to sharing these vital lessons directly with their respective communities. The resulting governance guidelines will now serve as a living tool, ready to be tested, adapted, and refined as communities and conservation partners continue their work together.Â
Watch the Journey Unfold
To view a visualisation of the key discussions and themes from the workshop, we invite you to watch the official workshop synopsis video.Â