Chad ends ties with Prince Harry’s African parks

By Rédaction Africanews with AP

Chad said it has withdrawn a mandate held by a non-profit conservation group associated with Prince Harry to manage its wildlife reserves, accusing the leading charity of not doing enough to stop poaching.

African Parks showed “a recurring indelicate and disrespectful attitude toward the government,” Environment Minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous said in a statement. He also said there had been a resurgence in poaching and a lack of investment at the reserves managed by the conservation group.

African Parks said in a statement it was in talks to “better understand the government’s position” and “explore the best way forward to support the continued protection of these landscapes that are critical to conservation.”

The decision ends a 15-year partnership between African Parks and the government to lead anti-poaching efforts and restore elephant populations at the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve and the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, which includes the Zakouma and Siniaka-Minia national parks.

According to African Parks, the elephant population at Zakouma National Park increased from 450 in 2010, when it took over management of the site, to over 550 by 2019.

Founded in 2000, African Parks established a hard-nosed reputation by going into seriously degraded places armed with the right to hire and fire from governments, which retained broad authority but respected a clear separation of roles.

The group assumes day-to-day management of countries’ wildlife areas, seeking more efficiency and accountability in the campaign to protect flora and fauna from poaching and habitat depletion. Many partner nations struggle to run parks on their own, challenged by poverty, corruption and conflict.

British royal Prince Harry sits on the board of African Parks and is a former president of the organisation.

Earlier this year, African Parks acknowledged that guards at one of its national parks in the Republic of Congo committed human rights abuses against Indigenous peoples who were displaced when the park was constructed.

Africa Parks said its management agreement with Chad for the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve was renewed in April.