Gambella is the largest protected area in Ethiopia and hosts a vital part of the world’s largest land mammal migration.
Gambella National Park, situated in the south-western region of Ethiopia, covers approximately 4 575km2. Established as a national park in 1973 to conserve its exceptional biodiversity and important wetland habitats, Gambella forms part of a much larger contiguous system of protected areas spanning southern Ethiopia and neighbouring South Sudan. The people of Gambella that depend on the region’s resources comprise pastoral and agricultural Nilotic groups which live outside or along the borders of the park. These are made up predominantly of the Anuak, but also include Majang and Omotic people, with a total population of some 400,000.
Located between two major river systems, Gambella supports important wildlife populations such as elephant, endangered Nubian giraffe and buffalo. Its extensive wetlands provide critical habitat for species like white-eared kob, Nile lechwe and migratory bird species. The park also hosts part of the largest land mammal migration in the world: approximately six million antelope, including white-eared kob, tiang, Mongalla gazelle and Bohor reedbuck move across the Great Nile Migration Landscape through Gambella’s northern point and neighbouring South Sudan every year.
In December 2024, African Parks entered into a 10-year renewable management agreement with the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA) and the President of the Gambella Peoples’ National Regional State (the Gambella State) to help restore the landscape and channel significant investment into the region. With this management partnership, we will unlock ecological and socio-economic benefits for the people of Ethiopia while promoting the sustainable use of resources and building resilience to climate change.
Our vision is to help conserve and manage Gambella National Park, in partnership with the Ethiopian government, the Gambella State and local communities, to ensure a functioning ecosystem. To achieve this, we will focus on biodiversity conservation, community development and park revenue generation, all of which will be supported through infrastructure and sound management. With the park falling within the Greater Boma-Gambella Landscape, and lying just north of African Parks-managed Boma National Park in South Sudan, this partnership adds significantly to the potential to conserve these landscapes and their migrations at a transboundary level.
The partnership will begin with a 12-month transition period where management plans will be co-created in collaboration with local stakeholders. During this time, African Parks will gather the information needed to ensure that conservation efforts are sustainable and to understand the needs of the communities living around the park. This will help build partnerships and relationships in the Gambella Region, and gather the necessary understanding and knowledge to ensure that plans and strategies are tailored to the local context.
African Parks, together with EWCA and the Gambella State, will implement a 12-month transition phase, during which time important baseline assessments will be completed, a human resources transition plan will be defined, necessary environmental and social due diligence assessments will be undertaken, governance structures set up and extensive stakeholder mapping and engagement conducted. Donate to African Parks to become part of the Gambella journey.
African Parks signed a 10-year renewable agreement with the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA) and the President of the Gambella Peoples’ National Regional State (the Gambella State) for the long-term management of Gambella National Park.
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