The Programme on African Protected Areas and Conservation (PAPACO) aims to improve the management and governance of protected areas in Africa and their positive results on biodiversity conservation.

PAPACO focuses on 3 complementary areas which are: equitable governance, effective management and the long-term sustainability of protected areas.

In close collaboration with the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), Papaco has 4 main working approaches:

• Conduct various evaluations and studies (at the site level, or at the national or regional level...) to provide relevant information to all stakeholders for better management and better governance,
• Develop relevant tools for the governance, management and monitoring of parks, based on methodologies developed with/by the CMAP (such as the Green List of PAs),
• Strengthen the capacities of park managers and their partners in Africa on these methodologies and tools, through regional, national or local training programs on the management and governance of PAs.
• Provide targeted technical support to duly selected sites/organizations where good potential for improvement is detected (for example to strengthen their sustainability).