Partners

DRC’s Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) is a public entity housed under the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development tasked with the sustainable management of biodiversity in protected areas in the DRC, in cooperation with local communities and other partners. The ICCN oversees a natural and cultural heritage comprising nine national parks and a network of 80 reserves, covering over 13% of the country’s area. African Parks’ collaboration with the Institut began in Garamba National Park in 2005. The ICCN is currently led by Director General Milan Ngangay Yves.

The EU has been a crucial long-standing partner of African Parks, working together towards joint conservation and development objectives in central Africa. Since 2005, this partnership has helped create areas of stability in volatile regions and attract additional funding and partners. The EU’s support has been critical in managing large landscapes. Through improved management of these ecologically important landscapes; striving towards safety and security for people and wildlife; and strengthening opportunities in green sectors, together we continue to work towards our common goals.

The Lottery manages draws on behalf of 20 independent postcode trusts in Great Britain. Since 2015, African Parks has received more than £9,8 million awarded by Postcode Planet Trust. In 2023, we were awarded £1.5 million by Postcode Planet Trust, which was used to support the three Malawi parks and Garamba National Park in the DRC.

Wildcat is a private philanthropic foundation, whose purpose is to help save, and provide for the long-term conservation of endangered wildlife and wild places in Africa. It supports innovative new approaches that disrupt traditional wildlife protection paradigms, focusing largely on comprehensive training modules, equipment, and technology for rangers. The foundation first partnered with African Parks in 2014 and has continued to demonstrate its commitment to conservation by investing in eight parks across seven countries. In 2023, Wildcat continued critical support for the development and implementation of conservation law enforcement strategies in Garamba in DRC, Pendjari and W in Benin, and Kafue National Park in Zambia.

The Agency has been implementing the Central Africa Regional Programme for the Environment (CARPE), an important effort to preserve the Congo Basin’s ecosystem, assisting governments and local communities to work together to sustainably manage natural resources and make long-term plans for forest land use. With a commitment of US$27million over the last 8 years (2016-2024), USAID has been providing support to African Parks to improve protected area management and wildlife conservation in the Garamba Complex and the Chinko Conservation Area within the Mbomou-Uele border region, straddling the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR), and to promote sustainable livelihoods among households dwelling inside and on the periphery of these protected areas. Apart from a myriad of conservation and sustainable livelihood impacts being achieved, this USAID partnership is contributing towards the establishment of a foothold for governance, security and stability for the surrounding communities, and the wider DRC-CAR-South Sudan transboundary landscape.

INL advances security, stability, and the rule of law, prerequisites for sustainable economic development and protection of natural resources. Since 2017, INL has partnered with African Parks on critical conservation law enforcement support in protected areas, enhancing the professionalisation and effectiveness of rangers across Africa. While standardised operational capacity transcends all protected areas managed by African Parks, ten protected areas have received direct support in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Central Africa Republic, Benin, Malawi and Zambia. INL support has led to the development of leadership and core training infrastructure, enables air surveillance, improves the welfare of rangers and canines, enhances technology for communication, wildlife monitoring and information management and advances national and regional collaboration with other security and conservation partners. Evidence management training and support to judicial systems, have also contributed to notable increases in wildlife crime convictions. These interventions not only protect wildlife, but also contribute to increased security of neighbouring communities and regional stability.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) operates to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. Since its initial partnership with African Parks in 2013, USFWS has consistently provided support to bolster conservation endeavours in key protected areas across central and western Africa. In 2023, USFWS continued its commitment by supporting the management and protection of Odzala-Kokoua and Zakouma, as well as backing elephant conservation initiatives in Garamba, Pendjari and W national parks.