African Parks – an African Success Story

African Parks was founded to effectively manage Africa’s protected areas for the benefit of people and wildlife. In just 20 years, our footprint has scaled to 14.2 million hectares with 19 protected areas under our management in 11 countries.

These landscapes help safeguard Africa’s biodiversity and deliver critically needed benefits to hundreds of thousands of people.

• Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park, one of the oldest Afromontane rainforests in Africa which provides 70% of Rwanda’s water, while also containing 25% of Africa’s primate species; and
• Benin’s W-National Park, an anchor of one of the largest remaining intact wild ecosystems in West Africa which forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We also reconfirmed and expanded two long-term commitments to protect and restore:

• Odzala-Kokoua National Park, in the Congo Basin, the world’s second largest tropical rainforest, by re-affirming our 25-year mandate with the Government; and
• Chinko, in the Central African Republic, where we signed a 25-year agreement with the Government to protect and expand the area under protection to 5.5 million hectares.

By working with Governments and communities we are able to protect critical forests, grasslands and seascapes and preserve essential ecosystem services which deliver clean air and water, food security, and capture carbon to combat climate change. And, in preserving these ecosystems, which support biodiversity and local livelihoods, we are protecting our shared inalienable rights to a healthy planet.

Today, we are asking you to give hope to nature and help us secure a healthy future for us all.

Sincerely,

Team African Parks

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. We currently manage 19 national parks and protected areas in 11 countries covering over 14.2 million hectares: Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, the Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Visit www.africanparks.org to learn more.