TNRC Knowledge Hub Training

Image representing TNRC's four focus areas: wildlife, fisheries, forests, and finance

Targeting Natural Resource Corruption

Harnessing knowledge, generating evidence, and supporting innovative policy and practice for more effective anti-corruption programming

Guides & Training

The practical tools below have been engineered to assist project designers and implementers who seek to reduce the impact of corruption on conservation. To access topic-specific issue analysis, research papers, case studies, expert insights, and more, visit the Knowledge Hub.

eCourses

Self-paced tools that break down the concept of corruption and expand understanding of the ways that it can be addressed in conservation programming.

 

TNRC eCourse: Introduction to Corruption, Anti-Corruption and Natural Resource Management

Improving understanding of corruption, its drivers and facilitators, and the range of possible approaches (that include, but also extend beyond detection and enforcement) is the first step to targeting natural resource corruption. This course introduces basic learning from anti-corruption research and practice to help break down the concept of corruption and expand understanding of the ways that it can be addressed in conservation programming. Case studies are included from the wildlife, forests, and fisheries sectors, based on real-world experiences.
 

Engaging the financial sector to reduce money-laundering and corruption linked to wildlife trade

This self-paced two-hour eCourse has been developed for conservation and natural resource management professionals working globally in project design and implementation to combat the illegal wildlife trade. Little to no understanding of the financial sector is required.

Programming Tips

Practical insights for project designers.

 

Anti-corruption Programming in Conservation and Natural Resource Management: Principles for Getting Started

This short reference guide is intended to assist conservation practitioners who are considering undertaking an anti-corruption project or adding an anti-corruption component to their work. It outlines eight principles based on learning from supporting pilot projects with WWF practitioners in widely varying contexts using different approaches. A key message is that anti-corruption projects tend to be most successful when they respond to specific corruption problems from a systemic perspective, in a manner that is appropriate to a given context.

Technical Guidance

Topic-specific guides for those who seek to better understand corruption risks, relevant anti-corruption responses, browse model results chains, and more.

 

How-to Guide: Strengthening internal controls to prevent corruption in illegal wildlife trade enforcement

This guide was developed for program managers and donors who seek to understand and assess the strength of internal control functions in government agencies responsible for enforcing laws against illegal wildlife trade (IWT). It provides detailed steps and guidance based on experience implementing assessments of internal controls, but a scan of the guide may also be helpful for conservation practitioners who want to understand more about how internal controls systems should work to reduce risks posed by corruption. Such an assessment can aid strategic efforts to enhance the integrity of government operations and to reduce the negative impact of corruption on the enforcement of IWT laws. Though this guide focuses on IWT, the same approach can be useful in other areas of natural resource management, such as forests and fisheries.
 

Guide to conducting corruption risk assessments in a wildlife law enforcement context

This guide is a high-level “how-to” for carrying out a corruption risk assessment in a conservation law enforcement context, using the Map, Characterize, Assess, and Recommend (MCAR) approach designed by the Basel Institute on Governance. The first section covers planning: the resources, timing, and other considerations for setting up the assessment. The second section lays out each step of the assessment, with tips, basic instructions, and implementation recommendations for each stage. Finally, the annexes provide sample supporting materials, including a simplified process diagram and map, a sample questionnaire for interviews, and a basic confidentiality agreement.
 

Conducting a corruption-oriented situation analysis for conservation work: Guidance from experience

This guide explains how conducting a corruption-oriented situation analysis can help conservation and natural resource management (NRM) practitioners understand and respond to the threats that corruption poses to conservation and NRM outcomes. It also shares lessons learned from three case studies where corruption-oriented situation analyses were conducted. Each case demonstrates the ways corruption may impact NRM activities and how practitioners can design projects that would respond more effectively to those threats.
 

Visualizing corruption risks in the illegal rhino horn trade supply chain

The rhino horn trade represents one of the four largest illegal wildlife trade flows by value and corruption is a key facilitator. Visualizing how corruption manifests along the supply chain can help conservation practitioners and wildlife management agencies better understand both the specific risks and the potential responses to combat illegal rhino horn and other illicit wildlife trades. This guide includes an infographic and accompanying text that maps the areas along the rhino horn supply chain that are most vulnerable to corruption and identifies feasible entry points for different anti-corruption approaches.
 

Corruption risks and anti-corruption responses in sustainable livelihood interventions

Sustainable livelihood projects can be vulnerable to corruption risks that may contribute to further social and environmental damage. This guide has been developed for programming designers and implementers aiming to reduce corruption's impact on community-based conservation initiatives. It contains three modules exploring the corruption opportunities, power, and justifications that might manifest in three typical sustainable livelihood interventions. Each module identifies corruption risks in that activity type and anti-corruption responses that have been tried or can be considered to address those risks.
 

A Guide to Identifying Corruption Risks Along Natural Resource Supply Chains

Reducing the threats that corruption poses to conservation and natural resource management objectives involves reducing opportunities for corrupt actions, increasing the likelihood of detecting them, and strengthening accountability when they are detected. To accomplish this, a first necessary step is understanding the range of corruption risks in a natural resource sector. This guide provides a simple, easy-to-follow overview of where corruption risks are likely in the supply chains for fish, forests, and wildlife.

Image attribution: © naturepl.com / Jen Guyton / WWF; © Brian J. Skerry / National Geographic Stock / WWF; © Georgina Goodwin / Shoot The Earth / WWF-UK; © Hkun Lat / WWF-Aus