8 October – The government of Chad said it has withdrawn a mandate held by conservation organisation African Parks to manage its wildlife reserves; the NGO has managed some of the country’s most important protected areas for more than a decade. The decision terminates African Parks’ management mandates over the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve and the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, which includes Zakouma and Siniaka-Minia National Parks.
Environment Minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous said African Parks showed “a recurring indelicate and disrespectful attitude toward the government,” and accused the organisation of failing to curb renewed poaching and under-investing in the reserves they managed.
African Parks confirmed receipt of the termination notice, saying it “has initiated discussions with the Ministry to understand the Government’s position and to explore the best possible” with the aim of safeguarding the conservation gains achieved over the past 15 years, and the continued protection of the reserves.
The organisation manages 22 parks across Africa and aims to reach 30 by 2030. African Parks enters mandates with governments to take direct responsibility for the daily running of national parks, aiming to bring greater efficiency and transparency to efforts against poaching and habitat loss. In many cases, host countries face severe obstacles to managing these areas themselves, hampered by limited resources, political instability and corruption.
Their work in Zakouma had been regarded as a model for conservation in central Africa. According to African Parks the park had seen elephant numbers recover from 450 in 2010 when they took over management, to over 550 by 2019.
African Parks signed a partnership agreement with the Government of Chad for the management of Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve in 2018. the organisation said the agreement was renewed in April this year.
Feature image: Hoodoos overlook Elephant Rock in the Tokou East area of the Ennedi Mountains. By David Stanley.
