Did you know that Chinko, a vast tract of intact savannah and tropical forest spanning over 64,000 km2 in the Central African Republic, can be seen from space?
The map below provided by NASA FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System) depicts close to real-time satellite imagery of fires on Earth. From January to February 2024 – the peak dry season in Northern Central Africa – Chinko was largely kept free from uncontrolled, human-induced fire.
In the dry season, almost all fires in the savannahs of Central Africa are human-made, for slash-and-burn agriculture or to enhance grazing opportunities for cattle. Natural fires during this time are extremely rare, and mostly occur later in the year, triggered by lightning strikes in the dry vegetation. Fires are part of savannah systems and not inherently destructive; however, when they burn too frequently, they can cause damage over time.
When African Parks partnered with the CAR government to manage Chinko in 2014, unsustainable natural resource use had degraded the ecosystem and caused tension between local sedentary communities and transhumant herders.
During the dry season, herders migrated through Chinko from an increasingly conflict-ridden and depleted Sahel in search of fresh grazing opportunities, burning the vegetation and killing predators threatening their livestock. A 2017 survey estimated that big cat populations in Chinko had declined by more than 80% over a 5-year period.
To create a mutually beneficial solution, the park initiated participatory land use planning, recruiting Transhumance Engagement Officers (TANGO agents) from the local herding communities to work with the herders on sustainable grazing practices.
Both herders and sedentary communities report improved safety due to this collaborative approach. Meanwhile, the entire core zone of Chinko, roughly 25,000 km2, is completely free from habitat degradation, and wildlife numbers of focal species like the African leopard have shown an incredible recovery. Given its success in Chinko, the model is now being replicated by African Parks in Benin and in Chad, as well as by other conservation organisations in the Central African Republic.
11 April 2024