Wildlife Economy
Investment Index (WEII)
The WEII is a measure of investment potential in Africa’s wildlife economy. The big five investment opportunities are ecotourism, carbon market (including natural climate solutions), hunting (including some aspects of fishing), wildlife ranching, and forest products. Taken together, they constitute a market share of over USD 250 billion a year in Africa (See Snyman et al. 2021. Roadmap for Africa’s Wildlife Economy).
At the ALU School of Wildlife Conservation, we define the wildlife economy as per the below definition:
The Wildlife Economy uses wildlife, both plants and animals (marine and terrestrial), as an economic asset to create value that aligns with conservation objectives and delivers sustainable growth and economic development (wildlife includes indigenous, undomesticated terrestrial and marine animals, plants, and other life forms).
About the WEII
The Wildlife Economy Investment Index (WEII) is developed by the African Leadership University's School of Wildlife Conservation (ALU SOWC) to assess wildlife economy performance and investment readiness across African countries.
The WEII evaluates countries through two complementary Sub-indices: the Wildlife Status Sub-index, which assesses the extent, condition and management of wildlife resources, and the Investment-enabling Environment Sub-index, which examines the governance, business and investment conditions that support wildlife-based economic activities.
WEII v1 established the inaugural methodology and baseline assessment of wildlife economy investment readiness across Africa. WEII v2 maintains this methodology while providing updated country results, comparative analysis and trend assessment across the continent. The Index currently draws on 280 indicators from 34 datasets and has increasingly been recognised as a useful policy and investment tool. The full WEII v2 Results Report and Methodology Report are now available.
Building on lessons from WEII v1 and v2, extensive stakeholder engagement and independent review, WEII v3 is now under development. The next iteration will strengthen ecological measurement, improve representation of African ecosystems, broaden coverage of wildlife economy activities beyond tourism, and introduce stronger governance, expert review and scientific validation processes.
While WEII v3 will remain an Index, it is also being strengthened to provide a more credible evidence base for policy, investment, resilience and emerging sovereign biodiversity finance discussions across Africa.
Objectives
The primary objectives of the WEII project are as follows:
Strengthening Wildlife Economy Measurement
Develop and continuously improve the Wildlife Economy Investment Index (WEII) as a scientifically robust and policy-relevant tool for assessing wildlife economy performance across Africa.
Elevating Wildlife as a Strategic National Asset
Promote recognition of wildlife, biodiversity and natural capital as strategic national assets that contribute to resilience, sustainable development and long-term economic value.
Supporting Evidence-based Decision-making
Generate credible data, analysis and country insights that inform policy reform, investment decisions and wildlife economy development across Africa.
Driving Reform and Performance Improvement
Support countries in identifying priorities for reform and strengthening wildlife economy performance through evidence-based analysis and benchmarking.
Informing Sovereign Resilience and Finance Discussions
Strengthen the evidence base required to help governments, development finance institutions and investors better understand how biodiversity and wildlife economy performance contribute to resilience and development outcomes.
Catalysing Biodiversity Finance Pathways
Explore practical pathways through which biodiversity and wildlife economy performance can support investment, resilience and sovereign finance discussions.
National
Reports
...
The national reports developed under the inaugural Wildlife Economy Investment Index (WEII v1) provide detailed country-level analyses of wildlife economy investment readiness across Africa. These reports assess each country's performance across the various components of the Index, highlighting strengths, identifying areas requiring improvement, and offering insights into the opportunities and constraints shaping national wildlife economies.
While individual country reports were produced for WEII v1, WEII v2 adopted a different reporting approach focused on continental and comparative analysis. As a result, WEII v2 was accompanied by a comprehensive Full Results Report and Methodology Report, rather than separate country reports.
Methodology
The Wildlife Economy Investment Index (WEII) methodology applied in Versions 1 and 2 was developed using internationally recognised best practice for composite indices, drawing inspiration from sources such as the OECD Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators. The methodology was developed through four key stages:
- The first stage established the rationale and conceptual framework for the Index through research, stakeholder engagement, and review of existing literature and global indices. This process identified the need for a comprehensive tool to assess wildlife economy investment potential across Africa.
- The second stage focused on identifying core domains (categories) that encompass the drivers of wildlife economy investment, such as wildlife assets, management, ease of doing business, public sector capacity, and investment safety. These categories were grouped into two overarching themes: Wildlife Status and Investment-enabling Environment, forming sub-indices of the WEII.
- The third stage involved selecting specific indicators to represent each category, with an emphasis on reliable and relevant data sources. These indicators were organised into sub-categories based on commonalities and distinctions, considering data definitions and sources to avoid misclassification and redundancy.
- The final stage applied statistical normalisation and aggregation techniques to calculate country scores, supported by extensive stakeholder consultation and expert review to strengthen the credibility, transparency, and robustness of the Index.
WEII v3, currently under development, will introduce a substantially revised methodology to improve ecological measurement, strengthen governance indicators, broaden representation of wildlife economy activities, and enhance the Index's relevance for policy, investment, and sovereign biodiversity finance discussions.
For inquiries related to the WEII project, you may reach out to: Dr. Sue Snyman
About SOWC
The ALU School of Wildlife Conservation is the first of its kind on the continent, dedicated to growing the next generation of world class conservation leaders in Africa.
The continent needs home grown African leaders to spearhead new and innovative approaches in the business of conservation.
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Contact
ALU School of Wildlife Conservation
Bumbogo, Kigali Innovation City, Next to Azam, Kigali, Rwanda
Phone: +250 784 650 219
sowc@alueducation.com
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