Perspectives From The Field

At a top-line level, what is the 25-year collective impact of African Parks? 

The first thing is that conservation is never "done". A national park that exists in legislation doesn't necessarily exist in reality. These areas have to be intentionally and effectively managed to survive, and if not, they are being lost – often quietly.

That said, the collective impact over 25 years is significant. African Parks, in partnership with governments and local communities, is currently responsible for the management of 24 protected areas across 13 countries, covering 20 million hectares. These ecosystems span tropical and afro-montane rainforests, savannahs, grasslands, wetlands, woodlands, coastal marine, and desert biomes. They sit in the headwaters of four of Africa's five largest rivers and collectively represent what is likely the most ecologically diverse portfolio of protected areas anywhere in the world. Securing these systems has required sustained effort: over 2.5 million ranger patrol days, the removal of 300,000 snares and traps, and the confiscation of 3,650 illegal weapons with 250,000 rounds of ammunition. As part of restoring ecological function, we have translocated 11,610 animals from 37 species, 18 of which had become locally extinct. 

More than $1 billion has been channelled into Africa over the last 25 years, with close to 70% spent directly in local economies. We have hosted over 1.4M paying visitors to the parks, the majority local, and made 200,000 free environmental education park visits possible for people from local communities. We provided healthcare to over 650,000 people in the last 10 years alone and we currently employ over 6,000 people. In 2025, we built 22 schools and supported close to 400 through food or materials, with over 2,000 students receiving a full scholarship.

These numbers matter. But what they represent matters more – functioning landscapes, communities with a stake in their future, and governments with a partner they can rely on.

Is there a single thing you are most proud of? 

Every park has something worth celebrating, and something that is a learning opportunity for others. Examples are the reinforcement of traditional fishing rights for communities in Liuwa Plain; the Echo/Tango teams in Chinko that enable conservation-compatible pastoralism; the complete restocking of all large mammal species in Majete; Akagera achieving full financial sustainability – each of these represents years of work by dedicated teams and committed partners.

But if I had to choose one, it's that we helped pioneer a collaborative management approach that is now embraced by governments and communities across the continent. The model has proven itself. Beyond the 24 areas we manage directly, our Incubator Partners manage another seven, and there are now over 50 areas managed in a similar way across Africa. The approach has scaled beyond us, which was always the point.

Do you have any regrets? 

We've made many mistakes along this journey, but I distinguish between mistakes and regrets. Mistakes can normally be corrected – regrets cannot.

Omo National Park in Ethiopia is a genuine regret. We left in 2008, pushed out by external pressure from an international advocacy organisation that we weren't able to withstand. We shouldn't have gone. Within years of our departure, the park was largely under sugar-cane plantations - with devastating consequences for biodiversity and for the communities whose lives depend on that landscape.

There are the areas that we did not commit to, or the landscapes that we did not support quickly enough, all resulting in the loss of nature and the fragmentation of these natural systems. 

What one lesson have you learnt along the way? 

The one that comes to mind most readily is the absolute necessity of leadership. Because our approach was a genuinely new one, it required specific individuals willing to consider a different proposition, understand it, and have the courage to act on it.

Whether it was His Royal Highness Litunga Lubosi Imwiko II, who championed our involvement in Liuwa Plain, or Leonard Sefu, the Director of National Parks and Wildlife in Malawi – behind every commitment has been a leader willing to embrace something new. That kind of leadership is not incidental to the model; it's foundational to it.

It's not a one-time requirement. The deeper and more genuine the partnership, the more both sides are able to achieve together. 

What is the “secret sauce” of African Parks?

It's hard to be precise, but I'd point to a few things.

Clarity of purpose matters enormously. We know what we are – a protected area management organisation – and we don't drift from that. Then, a genuine commitment to staying. We don't do short-term projects. We sign long-term mandates and we mean them, which changes how governments and communities engage with us, and what becomes possible over time.

The quality and commitment of our people is central to it all – people who are deeply connected to the continent and its landscapes, and who bring that into their work every day. And the governance structures that give those people the space, authority and accountability to do the job well.

Part of what makes our partnerships work is knowing when to say no. When a prospective government partner can't commit to the mandate terms we know are necessary for effectiveness, we'd rather pause than set everyone up to fall short. It’s not about rigidity, but rather about discipline and delivery.

Finally, we try to look honestly in the mirror. We make mistakes, and when we do, we try to name them, understand them, and, importantly, correct them. That kind of institutional self-awareness doesn't come naturally to organisations; it has to be actively cultivated. Learning is an attitude, not an event.

What does the next 25 years look like for African Parks and African conservation? 

Nature and wildlife have shaped every culture on this continent, and hundreds of millions of people depend on the ecosystem services its landscapes provide. An Africa that loses significant representations of its natural heritage will be a poorer continent – ecologically, economically, culturally, and in ways that are harder to quantify but no less real.

The pressures are intensifying. Extractive interests, land-use change, population growth, climate volatility - these are structural drivers, not temporary problems. The case for sustainably managed protected areas has never been stronger, but the window to act is narrowing. As a sector, we simply need to do more and better - to increase reach and deepen impact.

The Africa Keystone Protected Areas Partnership, developed together with the Rob Walton Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Frankfurt Zoological Society, provides focus and resourcing that is continentally significant. It is our responsibility, as implementers, to match that commitment with actions that fulfil its intentions: the safeguarding of these 162 areas and the landscapes they anchor.

We're focused on managing 30 protected areas by 2030, and on investing in the sector more broadly through our Incubation Programme and the African Conservation Academy.

But the honest answer is: we need to keep doing this work through the harder years that are coming, and we need to do more of it. If in 25 years' time, the leaders of African Parks are sitting down to a version of this conversation – reflecting on what they had to learn and what held true – that will be success.