Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Monday 9 July 2018

Backed by Prince Harry, conservation group expands in Africa

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA clude big inroads against
Associated Press poaching in Chad’s Zak-
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — ouma National Park and
The news from Congo’s the transport of six critically
Garamba National Park endangered black rhinos
was grim for decades: there, returning the species
rangers killed, an elephant decades after it was wiped
population decimated out in the country. It also
by poachers, maraud- restored lions and rhinos to
ing armed groups and the Rwanda’s Akagera Nation-
disappearance of the last al Park and relocated hun-
northern white rhinos living dreds of elephants within
in the wild. African Parks, Malawi to reduce pressure
the non-profit group that on natural resources and
took over management build up a depleted park
in 2005, had doubts about elsewhere.
whether it could turn things There have been setbacks,
around. some fatal. Last year a rhi-
With international support, no at Akagera killed a con-
the Johannesburg-based servationist, and three peo-
outfit stuck it out in a place ple died when a helicopter
that resembled a combat chartered by African Parks
zone at times, and it is re- In this file photo photo taken Monday, May 23, 2016, Erik Mararv, the manager of the Garamba crashed in Chinko park in
porting some good news. National Park in Congo, is photographed against a poster backdrop of elephants during an Central African Republic.
Garamba’s ranger force interview with The Associated Press in Johannesburg. Congo’s Virunga National
of 200 has not suffered a Associated Press Park, run by a public-pri-
casualty on the job in the Founded in 2000, African most one of not going too at Nouabalé-Ndoki Nation- vate partnership involving
last 12 months and just two Parks established a hard- fast and not taking on too al Park in the Republic of the Virunga Foundation, a
elephants have been killed nosed reputation by go- much, too quickly.” Congo is similar to the Af- Britain-based charity, has
this year, compared to 50 ing into seriously degraded The group now has more rican Parks model, while it been closed to tourists af-
in 2017 and 99 in 2016. places armed with the right than 1,000 rangers and shares management with ter a May attack in which a
The progress highlights a to hire and fire from gov- manages an ecologically the Mozambican govern- ranger was killed and three
public-private conserva- ernments, which retained diverse portfolio of 15 ar- ment in the Niassa National people, including two Brit-
tion model honed by Afri- broad authority but re- eas in nine countries, total- Reserve, whose elephant ish tourists, were briefly ab-
can Parks, whose expand- spected a clear separation ing about 105,000 square population has been hit ducted.
ing operations across the of roles. African Parks aims kilometers (40,500 square hard by poachers, said Jo- African Parks believes the
continent are likely to get for 25-year commitments; miles). It spent $44 million in seph Walston, senior vice improved training and
more attention with Brit- some are 10 years with a 2017 and seeks by 2020 to president of field conserva- equipment of rangers in
ain’s Prince Harry as the right to renew, while others manage 20 parks, a rela- tion programs. Garamba has helped to re-
group’s president. Appoint- are 50-year deals. tively small bulwark amid “I would not say that one duce illegal activity there.
ed in December, the royal “It was literally, ‘Here’s the hundreds of vulnerable model is better than the Dozens of new rangers with
had worked in the field with a park, we’ve written it reserves across the conti- other,” Walston said. “It’s automatic rifles paraded
African Parks, which has off, there’s no wildlife left, nent. It hopes other orga- very context-specific.” on June 13, the 80th anni-
boards in South Africa, Eu- there’s no value, there’s no nizations will take the same African Parks’ model is a versary of the park’s found-
rope and the United States tourism, there’s no income approach. welcome addition to the ing.
and counts the European for the park ... so you take In the past, non-govern- “toolbox” as conservation The park employs almost
Union and USAID among it.’ And that was fine. We mental groups provided challenges become more 500 full-time staffers and
major donors. needed to prove that we “bolt-on support” — tech- urgent, said Bas Huijbregts, provides employment,
African Parks assumes day- were able to achieve what nical, financial and so on African species manager health and education to
to-day management of we were saying, what we — to state-run parks, but for the WWF conservation thousands of people. Con-
countries’ wildlife areas, believed was possible,” some now look to emulate group. servationists increasingly
seeking more efficiency said Peter Fearnhead, Afri- the public-private man- The WWF pilots “co-man- recognize that residents
and accountability in the can Parks’ CEO. agement model, Fearn- agement approaches in in and around wildlife ar-
campaign to protect flora “Our challenges in the past head said. some cases,” signing a eas are critical to their
and fauna from poach- have been trying to con- Based at New York’s Bronx 2015 deal to provide tech- work. Poor villages can be-
ing and habitat depletion. vince governments that this Zoo, the Wildlife Conserva- nical leadership in Congo’s come recruiting grounds
Many partner nations strug- was worth doing,” Fearn- tion Society helps to pro- Salonga, the world’s sec- for poachers but can be a
gle to run parks on their head said in an interview tect wild places in 51 coun- ond-largest tropical forest park’s most effective pro-
own, challenged by pover- with The Associated Press. tries, 16 of them in Africa. park, Huijbregts said. tectors if provided with jobs
ty, corruption and conflict. “Our challenge now is al- The WCS management role African Parks’ successes in- and development.q