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  • This document is the quarterly newsletter of the USAID-funded Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project, which operated from 2018 to 2024. Its content included latest news, resources, and training opportunities.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.

  • Addressing corruption's impact on conservation and natural resource management: Lessons from the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption project

    This final report provides a summary of the contributions made by the United States Agency for International Development-funded Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project. The project worked from 2018 – 2024 and focused on improving biodiversity outcomes by equipping conservation and natural resource management practitioners to assess and address the threats posed by corruption to wildlife, fisheries, and forests. This objective was achieved through three strategic approaches: 1) harnessing existing knowledge and generating new evidence about the impact of corruption and effective programming responses; 2) communicating and networking to disseminate that information and demonstrate practical application, building experience, and generating new learning opportunities; and 3) supporting practical application through pilot projects in six countries and select initiatives to broaden practitioner experience. Additionally, the project worked on institutionalizing anti-corruption within partner organizations to leave a legacy of concrete change.

    The project was led by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and implemented by a consortium of leading conservation and anti-corruption organizations, including TRAFFIC; the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre at the Chr. Michelson Institute (U4); the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at George Mason University; and in collaboration with the Basel Institute on Governance.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.

  • This WWF paper proposes principles for how benefits of nature-based solutions (NbS) can be shared in a way that is fair, accountable, rights-based, and effective. NbS harness the power of nature to boost natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being to address major societal issues, including climate change. Around $133 billion currently flows to NbS, with calls to triple that amount by 2030 and quadruple it by 2050 to meet the magnitude of the threats facing humanity. Encouragingly, interest and investment in NbS are growing, especially from the private sector. This growth represents a significant opportunity, but accelerating into NbS implementation without concrete, principled guidance also represents a major risk. Without parameters and guidelines, much of this investment may be wasted or flow into and through institutions and power structures that do not respect human rights, protect Indigenous Peoples and local communities, or provide accountable financial management.

    This paper aims to centralize a shared statement of ambitious ethical guidelines, for discussion with the global community, that constitute the highest integrity for NbS benefit sharing. After discussion and refinement of these principles, WWF will seek to develop concrete, practical guidance for applying these principles to NbS interventions in several pilot landscapes.

    For more resources and tools, visit tnrcproject.org.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.

  • This paper demonstrates the application of WWF's Integrity Principles for benefit sharing mechanisms (BSMs) in nature-based solutions (NbS). It is adapted from specific guides created for three WWF landscape teams, offering a general version that can be adapted for other landscapes and organizations. This guide is organized into four key pillars of effective governance: (1) full and effective participation, (2) transparency and accountability, (3) fairness, and (4) effectiveness. Each pillar is subdivided into smaller elements containing prompts and questions to assist project implementers. This guide complements WWF's Integrity principles for benefit sharing in forest NbS for climate mitigation paper, which proposed 12 principles for how benefits of NbS can be shared in a way that is fair, accountable, rights-based, and effective. NbS harnesses the power of nature to boost environmental and social benefits. BSMs are what ensures that NbS interventions deliver both benefits and are sustainable in the long term. Achieving this relies on good governance of the BSM in NbS.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.

  • The Conservation Measures Partnership‚'s (CMP) " Direct Threats Classification " is a foundational tool for cross-field and cross-organizational collaboration in conservation. The Direct Threats provide a shared language for understanding and discussing the main threats to conservation and the actions conservation actors take to address those threats.

    This guide builds on the Direct Threats Classification to show how, for each direct threat, corruption may manifest as an indirect threat. In the same spirit as the Direct Threats Classification, practitioners can use this simple tool to see if they recognize any corruption dynamics they may be overlooking in their situation analysis. If teams identify corruption as a contributing factor, they can then use the following resources to inform their responses.

    Note on classification versions

    This TNRC guide used Threats Version 4.0 Alpha, provided by the Conservation Measures Partnership, which was the most recent version available at the time of publication. The consultation and revision process for Version 4.0 began in 2022 and was expected to end in 2024. The final Version 4.0 was not expected to differ substantially in terms of the content of this guide, so any corruption-related indirect risks identified by using this tool should map easily to the final Version 4.0.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.

  • This series of four guides offers practical guidance on the potential applications of behavioral science toward enhancing anti-corruption and conservation efforts.

    Guide 1 provides an introduction to behavioral science and why it might be relevant to anti-corruption and conservation practitioners, along with concrete guidance for practitioners on how to get started in applying social norms and behavior change insights to efforts to reduce the impact of corruption on conservation.

    Guide 2 provides insights into how red tape, a common issue that generates corruption risks in the fisheries sector and beyond, can be addressed not only by simplifying rules and procedures but also by incorporating strategic insights to help change the attitudes and behaviors of target groups.

    Guide 3 explores the topic of collusive corruption and how it can be addressed using a social norms and behavior change approach. It is based on a scenario where corruption affects a community-based resource management scheme in the forestry sector.

    Guide 4 discusses the challenge of corruption affecting front-line wildlife defenders, namely rangers, through a social norms and behavior change (SNBC) lens. The goal is to enhance understanding of the diverse drivers of corruption among these actors and to suggest concrete SNBC approaches to address this type of corruption.

    For more resources and tools, visit tnrcproject.org.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.

  • This collection of advice is derived from the experience of WWF Ecuador in assessing corruption risks in the mahi-mahi production chain. WWF Ecuador, with support from USAID within the framework of the Strengthen Natural Resources Governance in Ecuador program, adapted the international standard ISO31000 risk assessment methodology and produced an internal guide to identify and assess risks. The Ecuador guide is similar to the "Methodological Guide for Corruption Risk Diagnostics in Fisheries Value Chains" developed by WWF Peru with support from the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project. TNRC summarized and adapted the Peru guide for general use.

    This resource complements the Peru guide, focusing on practical advice corresponding to each phase of the risk diagnosis process. With both resources, users can adapt and apply the ISO31000 methodology to their own needs, in other fisheries value chains or even other natural resource sectors.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.

  • These four topic-specific TNRC Model Results Chains serve as a starting point to guide conservation and natural resource management practitioners through potential anti-corruption approaches that can be adapted to different contexts or activities.

    Integrating anti-corruption into law enforcement approaches illustrates how conservation and natural resource management practitioners could incorporate anti-corruption elements into a law enforcement activity. The chain focuses on the illegal wildlife trade, meaning here any unlawful activity related to profiting from fish, forests, and wild fauna. However, most of the information will be relevant to broader law enforcement against any crimes affecting the environment. This model results chain serves as a starting point and must be adapted to the specific context and objective of an activity.

    Transparency and accountability for market-based incentives illustrates how conservation and natural resource management practitioners could integrate transparency, accountability, and other open governance initiatives into a standard market-based incentive program. However, like any model, it is only a starting point, and it must be adapted to the specific context and objectives of a given activity. Not all of these factors will be applicable or feasible for all market-based initiatives, and all require careful adaptation and integration.

    Social norms and behavior change for anti-corruption illustrates how conservation and natural resource management practitioners could leverage social norms and behavior change (SNBC) for anti-corruption. Like any model, however, it is only a starting point. The factors in this chain can be adapted and integrated into a conservation activity, or they could be used as one strategy targeting a corruption norm that threatens a targeted conservation outcome.

    Integrating anti-corruption into traceability initiatives illustrates how conservation and natural resource management practitioners could integrate anti-corruption into their traceability or other supply chain initiatives. However, like any model, it is only a starting point, and it should not be used “as is.” Not every factor will be applicable or feasible for all traceability initiatives, and all require careful adaptation and integration into the specific strategy or activity that is being designed.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.

  • This Fact Sheet provides an overview of the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project, highlighting its structure and impact. Supported by USAID and led by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) with a consortium of leading conservation and anti-corruption organizations, the TNRC project focused on improving biodiversity outcomes by equipping practitioners with knowledge and tools to address the threats posed by corruption to wildlife, fisheries, and forests.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.

  • This new Policy Brief discusses the political economy of a green recovery in Ukraine. It analyses how corruption might inhibit green, equitable and sustainable reconstruction in Ukraine, the drivers of this corruption and the political opportunities for tackling it. It recommends joining up the anti-corruption and environmental reform agendas, ensuring citizen and community involvement in post-war recovery and building on wartime community self-help initiatives. The brief is based on research undertaken in 2022 by Anna Paterson, Andrii Biletskyi, Lyubov Palyvoda and Sam Bickersteth for the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Ukraine, with support from the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption project.

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    This content is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or individual TNRC consortium members.