Thomas Alex Hilton 

The UK government's Biodiversity Challenge Funds (BCF; including Darwin Initiative, Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, and Darwin Plus) have funded hundreds of conservation projects across the Global South since the early 1990s. Increasingly, these projects include goals relating to human livelihoods, recognising the complex interrelationships between poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. In this paper, we evaluate livelihood programming in BCF projects, using best practice from the economic development sector as a benchmark. We find that while some projects are in line with best practice in the development sector - adopting market-based approaches and systems thinking - many rely on outdated delivery models that show limited prospects for lasting impact at scale. Recommendations are made for improved livelihoods programming in resource-constrained conservation contexts.