Partners

The Government of Benin signed an agreement with African Parks in 2017 to rehabilitate and develop Pendjari National Park, followed by W National Park in 2020. The restoration of the parks forms part of the “Revealing Benin” national investment programme. José Tonato, Minister of the Living Environment and Transport in charge of Sustainable Development (Ministère du Cadre de Vie et des Transports, Chargé du Développement Durable), Abdel Aziz Baba-Moussa, Director General of the National Centre for the Management of Wildlife Reserves (CENAGREF), and Achille Houssou, Managing Director of the National Agency for the Promotion of Tourism Heritage, have all been instrumental in this partnership.

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 elephant in Africa. Since 2015, the ECF has not only contributed more than $6.6 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, driving joint conservation and development goals in Central, East and West Africa. Since 2005, this partnership has fostered stability in fragile regions attracting additional funding and new partners. The EU’s support has been critical in managing large landscapes, enhancing safety and security for both people and wildlife, and creating opportunities in green sectors. Together, we remain committed to advancing our shared vision for a sustainable future.

The Foundation is a conservation trust fund promoting the preservation of protected areas of the WAP Complex, while advancing education, science, and local economic development. The Foundation was set up by the Benin Government and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with financial contributions from the Benin Government, Global Environment Facility (GEF), and Financial German Cooperation (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau – KfW). The Foundation has been providing significant annual financial contributions towards the management of Pendjari National Park since 2017. From 2019 to 2020, FSOA provided 85% of funding to implement a Priority Action Plan to secure W National Park, Benin. The Foundation also contributed significantly to the funding of the first three-month plan for the management of W National Park by the African Parks mandate. Its larger vision is to create a sustainable source of funding and to support the synergy of activities within the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex.

An initiative operated and managed by the Wildlife Conservation Network, the LRF is a nimble and flexible fund investing in the most innovative and effective projects across Africa to recover lion and restore their landscapes. Since 2017, the LRF has contributed over US$6.7 million to African Parks. This funding has benefitted ten different African Parks sites, with a particular focus on several parks in West and Central Africa, given the extreme vulnerability of lion populations in these regions. The LRF has invested heavily in Chinko in the CAR, part of a vast 65,000 km² wilderness that has immense potential for lion recovery.

INL advances security, stability, and the rule of law, prerequisites for sustainable economic development and conservation of natural resources. Since 2017, INL has partnered with African Parks on critical law enforcement support in protected areas, enhancing the professionalisation and effectiveness of rangers across Africa. While standardised operational capacity transcends all protected areas under African Parks’ management, 10 protected areas have received direct support in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Republic of Congo, Central Africa Republic, Benin, Malawi and Zambia. INL’s 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 of judicial systems have also contributed to notable increases in wildlife crime convictions. These interventions not only safeguard wildlife but also contribute to increased security of neighbouring communities and regional stability.

The USFWS operates to conserve and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. Since its initial partnership with African Parks in 2013, USFWS has consistently provided support to bolster our conservation endeavours in key protected areas across Central and West Africa. In 2024, USFWS continued its commitment by supporting the management and conservation of Odzala-Kokoua (Republic of Congo) and Zakouma (Chad), as well as backing elephant conservation initiatives in Chinko (CAR), and Pendjari and W national parks in Benin.

The Wyss Foundation is a private charitable organisation dedicated to supporting innovative, lasting solutions that improve lives, empower communities and strengthen connections to the land. The Foundation’s relationship with African Parks began in 2015 with a grant to support the restoration of Akagera National Park in Rwanda, followed by a significant investment in Malawi’s Liwonde National Park and Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. In 2017, the Foundation made a ground-breaking commitment of US$65 million to provide ongoing support for Akagera and the Malawi parks, along with start-up funding for five new parks. This enabled the addition of Pendjari and W in Benin, Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique, Iona in Angola, Matusadona in Zimbabwe and Nyungwe in Rwanda. In 2021, the Foundation furthered its support of African Parks with another extraordinary commitment of US$108 million, which will provide for the continued support of current Wyss-funded parks, as well as start-up funding for a further five new parks. Three parks recently added to our portfolio – Kafue in Zambia, and Badingilo and Boma in South Sudan – are benefitting from the Wyss Foundation’s latest commitment and five others from renewal commitments: Bazaruto, Pendjari, Majete, Nkhotakota and Liwonde.