Badingilo & Boma National Parks

Badingilo and Boma national parks in South Sudan make up nearly three million hectares that are home to an abundance of wildlife, including hundreds of thousands of migrating antelope. Situated in the south of South Sudan, both parks are integral parts of the larger 20-million-hectare ecosystem that stretches north-west through the Jonglei corridor and to the White Nile. The parks harbour one of Africa’s largest land mammal migrations, where hundreds of thousands of white-eared kob, Mongalla gazelle, tiang and Bohor reedbuck merge in Badingilo during the wet season for breeding, before migrating north and east towards Boma National Park and the Sudd, and into Gambella National Park in Ethiopia.

Decades of instability and ethnic conflict have severely impacted the lives of local people in and around Badingilo and Boma. In 2022, to ensure the long-term ecological, social, and economic sustainability of these globally important parks, the government of the Republic of South Sudan signed a 10-year agreement with African Parks. The partnership includes the wildlife corridors and proposed extension zones in the broader landscape – an area of well over three million hectares. These national resources are the lifeblood of the White Nile ecosystem and provide sustenance and livelihoods for millions of people.

This commitment by the South Sudanese Government is an important step in the long-term protection of these vital ecosystems and in securing lasting benefits for people and wildlife. In Badingilo and Boma, an opportunity exists to protect and develop the park to support both people and wildlife. Through effective management, infrastructure, conservation law enforcement, and engagement with local communities, the parks have the potential to become premier tourism destinations for South Sudan as well as to continue providing natural resources to the communities and the people of South Sudan in a sustainable way.

Badingilo & Boma Highlights

• Badingilo and Boma form part of one of the largest land mammal migrations in Africa, where hundreds of thousands of white-eared kob, Mongalla gazelle, tiang, and bohor reedbuck move between the parks.
• Both parks are proposed UNESCO World Heritage Sites and together form an Important Bird Area (IBA).
• The parks also support an important population of critically endangered Nubian giraffe (a subspecies of northern giraffe), endangered northern lion, and critically endangered north-east African cheetah.
• The significant numbers of people that live inside and on the boundaries of the parks comprise different ethnic groups, including the Dinka, Mundari, Pari, Lopit, Bari, Lokoya, Murle and others. Each has distinct traditions, culture, and livelihood activities connected with nature and the landscape.

Partners

On 25 August 2022, African Parks signed a 10-year management agreement with the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism to restore and develop Badingilo and Boma national parks, with the aim of creating leading wildlife sanctuaries in South Sudan and securing lasting benefits for people and wildlife.

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