About African Parks
African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes responsibility for the long-term management of protected areas in partnership with governments and local communities.
Mission: African Parks was founded in 2000 in response to the dramatic decline in biodiversity across Africa, caused by poor management of national parks and protected areas and the lack of funding. Its goal is to restore and effectively manage these landscapes so that they become sustainable and deliver a multitude of benefits for people and wildlife at scale.
Growth: The organisation currently manages 23 protected areas across 13 countries, covering more than 20 million hectares. This represents the largest portfolio of protected areas managed by any NGO on the continent.
Model: African Parks pioneered the Public-Private Partnership model, which has proven to be one of the most effective approaches to managing protected areas in Africa. The model is now recognised within the conservation sector as best practice for achieving tangible results on the ground. African Parks is fully accountable to its government and community partners, who remain the policymakers and owners of the landscapes.
Rhino Rewild: Rescue, Rewild, Renew
Phase 1: Rescue
In 2008, a private rhino breeding farm was established as a commercial venture in South Africa. Over the following 15 years, the farm became the world’s largest captive breeding operation for southern white rhinos, housing more than 2,000 rhinos. However, the venture was unable to secure financial partners or establish a sustainable funding model.
Faced with the risk of the rhinos being poached or dispersed as part of a liquidation process, African Parks purchased the operation with one clear objective: to rewild these rhinos over the next 10 years by relocating them to well-managed and secure areas, establishing or supplementing strategic populations and thereby reducing the risk to the species’ future.
Phase 2: Rewild
Over the next 10 years, African Parks plans to translocate up to 300 rhinos annually to multiple well-managed protected areas across Africa. With 23 parks under management in 13 countries, African Parks is establishing multiple release sites within its existing network, while also working with other conservation organisations, communities, and governments to develop additional sites, ensuring that the rhinos are protected in their new wild homes. The goal is to establish between seven and 20 healthy wild rhino metapopulations by the end of the 10-year programme.
Phase 3: Renew
Once rewilded into safe, wild areas, these rhinos will, with ongoing management and protection, establish new populations and strengthen existing ones, helping to secure the future of the species while also contributing to the restoration of critically important ecosystems. This phase is essential to ensuring that between seven and 20 metapopulations and their ecosystems are protected in the long term, leaving an enduring impact on biodiversity during this critical decade for our planet.
Rhino Ready
The key to the success of rewilding 2,000 rhinos lies in the existence of safe, well-protected, and effectively managed areas across Africa, something African Parks has been working to achieve for more than 20 years.
The three key pillars of its management model are:
- Biodiversity conservation
- Community development
- Park revenue generation
Together, these pillars provide the foundation for the safe return and successful rewilding of these species.
“We are thankful to the VGP Foundation for joining forces with us in support of the Rhino Rewild Initiative. This partnership is helping to build a legacy of hope for future generations, securing the survival of this iconic species and making a lasting impact on Africa’s remaining wild spaces.”
– African Parks
