African Parks

Inside the project

African Parks operates on a delegated-management model: under long-term mandates with national governments, it assumes responsibility for the funding, security, infrastructure and day-to-day running of a protected area. As of 2024-25 it manages 24 parks across 13 countries and over 20 million hectares, the largest area under management of any single conservation NGO in Africa.

The organisation fields one of the continent's largest ranger forces and has carried out landmark wildlife restorations, including translocating around 500 elephants between reserves in Malawi in 2016-17 and reintroducing rhinos and other key species into recovering parks.

It pairs anti-poaching and ecological recovery with community programs in health, education and enterprise for people living around the parks, and in 2024 announced a roughly USD 1 billion plan to support global 30x30 protected-area goals.

Objectives

• Secure and rehabilitate protected areas under long-term government partnerships
• Restore wildlife populations through reintroductions and anti-poaching
• Deliver tangible benefits to surrounding communities
• Build sustainable, diversified financing so each park endures long-term

Approach

• Each park runs ecological monitoring through aerial and ground wildlife counts and ranger-based law-enforcement data (SMART-type patrol systems). African Parks is a protected-area manager rather than a single certified carbon project, though several sites host associated carbon and biodiversity programs.