Partners

The Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) of the DRC is a public entity housed under the Ministry of Environment charged with the sustainable management of biodiversity in protected areas in the DRC, in cooperation with local communities and other partners. The ICCN manages a natural and cultural heritage made up of nine national parks and a constellation of 80 reserves covering over 13% of the country’s area. We began our work with the ICCN in Garamba National Park in 2005. The ICCN is currently under the leadership of Director General Milan Ngangay Yves.

The Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF), a joint initiative of Save the Elephants and the Wildlife Conservation Network, is a flexible and responsive fund that supports the best efforts from the most trusted organisations across the world working to save elephants. Since 2015, the ECF has not only contributed more than US$3.4 million to African Parks, but also expertise on best practices in elephant conservation. This has benefited critical surveillance and intelligence-based protection for some of our most threatened elephant populations in Central, Southern and Western Africa.

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 a volatile region and attract additional funding and partners. The EU’s support has been critical in managing large landscapes, namely Garamba National Park and its periphery, Chinko Conservation Area, Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve, the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, Odzala- Kokoua National Park, and W National Park in Niger. Through improved management of these ecologically important landscapes; striving towards safety and security for people and wildlife; and strengthening opportunities in green sectors, we will continue to work towards our common goals, in alignment with the EU’s NaturAfrica initiative.

The Wildcat Foundation 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 medical training, aircraft, equipment and technology for Rangers. The Wildcat Foundation first partnered with African Parks in 2014, supporting the historic 500-elephant move in Malawi. Over the years, Wildcat has invested in seven parks across six countries. Wildcat has been instrumental in assisting with the development and implementation a new law enforcement strategy at Garamba National Park, which has resulted in a 95% reduction in elephant poaching.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) operates to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. USFWS first partnered with African Parks in 2013 and has awarded grants to support our antipoaching programs in Chinko, Garamba National Park, Odzala-Kokoua National Park and Zakouma National Park. In 2021 USFWS continued to support the management and protection of Chinko and renewed its support of Zakouma and Odzla-Kokoua National Parks.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) operates the Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) with the aim of conserving the ecological integrity of the Congo Basin Forest for the benefit of local people and the global community. With their support, we are able to carry out the core protected area management of Garamba National Park and Chinko. In addition, through USAID funding, African Parks in consortia with African Wildlife Foundation is improving community resilience and wildlife conservation in the Mbomou-Uele border region.

Barrick is a sector-leading gold and copper producer, operating mines and projects in 18 countries in North and South America, Africa, Papua New Guinea and Saudi Arabia. Our portfolio spans the world’s most prolific gold and copper districts and is focused on high-margin, long-life assets. Our highly diversified workforce is drawn almost entirely from our host nations and equipped with world-class skills. At Barrick we understand the importance of protecting and restoring our planet, and through our partnership with African Parks proudly support the conservation and reintroduction of biodiversity in the Garamba National Park, and increased population trends of elephant, Kordofan giraffe and buffalo.

The U.S. Department of State, through both the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the Bureau of African Affairs (AF), advances good governance and peace and security, pre-requisites for sustainable economic development and protection of natural resources. They began providing support in 2018 and have committed over US$3 million for ranger uniforms, equipment and training for African Parks teams operating in Chad, Central African Republic, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo and Zambia. They have also supported leadership development and core training infrastructure, all of which leads to enhanced capacity to disrupt illegal wildlife trade and promote regional stability.

The Okapi Fund is a private, legally independent institution created to provide sustainable funding for biodiversity conservation in the DRC. Its main activity is to mobilise financial resources from international donors, national governments and the private sector, to ensure the sustainability of the capital made available, and to allocate it in the form of grants to programmes and projects on the ground through non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations, and government agencies, in charge of the management of Protected Areas.

Nature+ is a Belgian non-profit organisation active in Africa since 2001. Its objective is to improve the sustainable management of natural resources by working closely with the various stakeholders involved, in particular with local communities on the periphery of protected areas. Nature+ implements participatory natural resource management actions and popularises agroforestry as a tool to reduce deforestation and promote local development. N+ works with a bottom-up approach, carrying out pilot experiments in the field with local communities, and capitalising on/disseminating the results obtained to decision-making levels in order to improve and adapt institutional and administrative frameworks to the realities on the ground.