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improved agricultural practices to reduce the need for the expansion ofconservation areas.• A protected area patrol system, preferably using local inhabitants.• An ecosystem management and recovery component that could include the use ofrange management tools, such as the use of fire to influence animal distribution,fences for the creation of animal re-introduction areas, and the actual reintroductionof species that have been locally extinct.• A training component for park guards, tourist guides, and field biologists.• A sustainable financing component, including tourism development if feasible andfunds from extractive industries and the government.• Development of an appropriate management model.E4. Strengthen Government Institutions and Define the Regulatory FrameworkThe need: Angola’s environmental governance is deficient: some laws are outdated,others are under elaboration and regulations have yet to be drafted. Angola hasundefined institutional mandates and lack of capacity.Angola is emerging from three decades of war. The environment is low-priority andenvironmental institutions and legal instruments are not fully developed.MINADER’s IDF continues to exercise functions that are now legally ascribed toMINUA; the forestry law is under development; and regulations and procedures forexisting laws are at times nonexistent and at others faulty.Recommendation: Given government sensitivities, USAID should only attempt tohelp strengthen environmental governance capacity if explicitly asked to do so. Thistask may be better left United Nations organizations such as the FAO and the UNDP.On the other hand, USAID should offer capacity building in environmental impactassessment, rapid ecological surveys, participatory methods, and enhancing remotesensing capability.E5. Activate the Giant Sable Conservation FundThe need: The Giant Sable Conservation Project has no reliable funding source.Angola’s current government budgeting procedure does not ensure a constant flow ofresources for on-the-ground conservation activities. Furthermore, most conservationactivities are undertaken by NGOs or projects with funding from a variety of sources,primarily oil companies such as SONANGOL and EXXON. The few individualbiologists who lead these conservation activities find themselves overwhelmed notonly by their conservation chores, but also by the need to continuously developproposals and lobby for small amounts of money necessary to keep field-levelactivities going. The financial situation of these efforts is extremely precarious. Thiscondition typifies the Giant Sable Conservation Project.Recommendation: The oil industry in Angola has shown a modest willingness to fundconservation activities. Although funding has been sporadic and limited, the moneyhas helped meet essential expenditures and keep alive the two most important42 118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FOREST ASSESSMENT FOR ANGOLA