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The EU has long supported biodiversity con- servation and recognised the links between healthy ecosystems and livelihoods. Starting from the mid-1980s, the EU has helped devel- oping countries manage biological resources in a sustainable way. It has provided long-stand- ing support to biodiversity conservation in National Parks and protected areas, especially in Africa, by increasing the capacity of local authorities and NGOs in management and finance, monitoring and evaluation, and in pro- moting income-generating activities compat- ible with conservation. The best-known action of this kind is the Conservation and Rational Use of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa Pro- gramme (ECOFAC), which protects the habitats of great apes and other emblematic species and ecosystems. The EU has invested nearly EUR 140 million in ECOFAC since 1992, sup- porting 16 major protected areas in eight Cen- tral African countries, covering an area of more than 130 000 square kilometres.