Chad cuts ties with Prince Harry's wildlife charity over alleged poaching
The loss of Chad's partnership adds to mounting pressure on African Parks, which counts the European Union (EU), Walmart heir Rob Walton, and philanthropist Howard Buffett among its top donors.
Chad has terminated its 15-year partnership with African Parks, a conservation organisation whose board includes Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, citing poor cooperation and failure to control poaching in two of the country's key wildlife reserves.
Chadian Environment Minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous informed the non-profit of the "unilateral decision" to revoke its management over the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve and the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, which covers the Zakouma and Siniaka-Minia national parks, on Monday.
N'Djamena, the BBC reports, accused the South Africa–based organisation of being arrogant and disrespectful toward government institutions, saying it ignored official instructions and failed to invest enough in protecting wildlife, resulting in a rise in poaching within the parks.
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The Ennedi and Zakouma reserves were among 22 protected sites managed by African Parks in 12 African countries, covering over 20 million hectares.
Founded in 2000, African Parks promotes itself as a model for sustainable conservation, working with governments to make parks environmentally and financially secure. However, the organisation has faced controversy in recent years.
Earlier this year, it admitted that some staff at a park it manages in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had abused residents. It later declined to release an independent report on the incident, drawing criticism from human rights groups.
Prince Harry, who served as African Parks' president for six years before joining its board in 2023, has not commented publicly on the issue.
The development marks another setback for Harry's charitable work months after he stepped down as patron of Sentebale, his long-running children's charity in southern Africa.
This followed a public dispute with its board chair, who had been asked to step down but refused.
"With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as Patrons of the organisation until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same," said Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, the co-founder, in a joint statement in March.
"It is devastating that the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation. What transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock that we have to do this, but we have a continued responsibility to Sentebale's beneficiaries."
The loss of Chad's partnership adds to mounting pressure on African Parks, which counts the European Union (EU), Walmart heir Rob Walton, and philanthropist Howard Buffett among its top donors.
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