Garamba, one of Africa’s oldest national parks and a World Heritage Site, is the last stronghold for the largest population of elephants and the last remaining Kordofan giraffe in the DRC
Garamba National Park, spanning 5,133 km2, with 9,662 km2 of adjacent domaines de chasse, is characterised by savannah and equatorial forest and situated in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). One of Africa’s oldest national parks, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. But over the decades, Garamba endured periods of armed conflict, rampant ivory poaching, and civil wars, which led to steep declines in wildlife populations and threatened its UNESCO listing. In 2005, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) entered into a management partnership agreement with African Parks for Garamba. Between 2005 and 2016 however, widespread insecurity due to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group and other armed forces continued to threaten the safety of communities and wildlife.
In 2016, African Parks, together with the ICCN, revised its approach by implementing new systems to overhaul conservation law enforcement and bring stability to the park and its surrounds. Since then, wildlife numbers in the park have begun increasing, and communities have begun realising the benefits from stability in the region. Tens of thousands of people living around the park have benefitted from the provision of schools, healthcare, and investments in sustainable development and enterprise. In a region with little economic opportunity, Garamba employs almost 500 full-time local staff. This historic park now serves as an anchor for regional stability and the source of a brighter future for people and wildlife.
Basenji dogs, selected for their tracking capabilities and known as the ‘barkless dog’, have been extremely effective in helping anti-poaching efforts.
The population of critically endangered Kordofan giraffe, which is the last remaining in the DRC, continues to grow with over 80 individuals recorded.
A solar energy programme, begun in 2012, uses mini-grids to provide clean power to nearly 400 households and businesses in towns around the park.
The Farmer Field Schools (FFS) programme, designed to train farmers in sustainable agriculture methods has reached nearly 800 farmers.
On the Horizon
Our focus is twofold: to maintain our efforts to reduce poaching threats and to continue the Sustainable Development initiative that has begun to impact more than 100,000 people living around Garamba. Help us in these vital endeavours by donating to African Parks today.
African Parks and theInstitut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) entered into a management partnership for Garamba in 2005 In 2016, this management agreement was renewed for another ten years.
