Ministry of Forest Economy, Sustainable Development and Environment
The Ministry of Forest Economy executes national policy regarding sustainable development, forest economy and the environment. In 2010, African Parks signed its first public-private management agreement with the ministry for Odzala- Kokoua National Park. In 2020, an amendment to the agreement was signed with the minister, Madame Rosalie Matondo, adding the Lossi Gorilla Sanctuary to the protected area and creating the Odzala-Kokoua-Lossi Foundation as the management entity. Under the ministry, African Parks works with the Congolese Agency for Wildlife and Protected Areas (ACFAP in French), which is represented by its Director-General, Jean Bosco Nganongo.
A Dutch foundation, DOB Ecology believes that strong and healthy ecosystems are vital ingredients for life, wellbeing, and sustainable development. The mission of DOB Ecology is to support partners that work to protect and restore threatened ecosystems and (re)build the conditions for resilient livelihoods of local communities. The multiyear partnership between DOB Ecology and African Parks revolves around intelligence-based conservation in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
A joint initiative of Save the Elephants and the Wildlife Conservation Network, the ECF is a flexible and responsive fund that supports the best efforts by the most trusted organisations globally, working to secure a future for elephants in Africa. Since 2015, the ECF has not only contributed more than US$5.9 million to African Parks, but also expertise on best practice in elephant conservation. This has benefitted critical surveillance, intelligence-based protection, and human-elephant conflict mitigation activities for some of our most threatened elephant populations.
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.
LLF is an international fund, established by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as an independent charitable foundation under German law. Its financial resources stem from public and private sources. In addition to funding from the German Government through KfW Development Bank, NORAD and the French Agence Française de Developpement, each site needs to have a private match-funding partner. LLF addresses the biodiversity financing gap by sourcing significant and sustained long-term funding from both public and private donors, thus contributing to conserving biodiversity within a 30x30 framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Two protected areas managed by African Parks are among the pilot sites receiving funding from LLF: Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo and Iona National Park in Angola.
Stichting Natura Africae
A charitable foundation established in 2017 by Jan Verhagen, a Dutch entrepreneur, Natura Africae is dedicated to the conservation of national parks and protected areas in Africa, recognising the reciprocal relationship between the livelihoods of local communities and the successful protection of an ecosystem’s wildlife. The Foundation provided €4,75m in 2022, supporting park operations in Liuwa Plain, Odzala-Kokoua, Matusadona, Nyungwe and Ennedi. The grant also provided catalytic funding to strengthen African Parks’ organisational costs and institutional platform.
RWF supports ambitious projects, partners and programmes to foster a planet where people and nature thrive. With the passion of their founder, RWF works with urgency and an earnest belief that it will take all of us to reach global conservation goals, protect biodiversity, and create opportunity for communities. Rob Walton has been an invaluable partner to African Parks since 2003, providing support to safeguard the long-term health of protected areas, which are critical to the wellbeing of wildlife and local communities across Africa. In 2021, the RWF made a transformational US$100 million five-year commitment, the largest endowment gift in African Parks’ history. Portions of the Foundation’s annual contributions have supported various parks within our portfolio, including Chinko, Ennedi, Liwonde and Nkhotakota, as well as sparked matching grants to Iona and Odzala-Kokoua, in conjunction with the Legacy Landscapes Fund. Moreover, RWF made pivotal commitments to launch the African Parks Conservation Academy and enhance the reach and effectiveness of the Strategic Partners Programme. These initiatives will collectively strengthen the field of protected area management across Africa, demonstrating the Foundation's dedication to conservation leadership and capacity building.
The United States Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)
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.