In brief
Chad has severed ties with African Parks, an organization linked to Prince Harry, due to accusations of failing to combat poaching effectively. The Chadian environment ministry criticized African Parks for what it described as arrogance and disrespect. The charity has announced plans to understand the government’s perspective and explore future collaboration.
The Chadian government has terminated its agreement with a controversial conservation organization that has the Duke of Sussex on its board of directors.
It accused the charity African Parks of failing to curb poaching, ending a 15-year mandate to manage two of its protected sites in the central African country.
The environment ministry said African Parks had displayed an arrogant and disrespectful attitude towards the government, failing to fully cooperate with authorities.
The charity said it had begun talks with the ministry to understand the government's position and explore the best way forward to support the continued protection of these landscapes that are critical to conservation.
African Parks, of which Prince Harry is a board member and former president, helped look after two wildlife reserves in Chad: the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve and the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, which includes the Zakouma and Siniaka-Minia national parks.
They were among 22 national parks managed by the group across 12 countries. This marks yet another scandal for the organization, which recently faced criticism regarding the treatment of local communities in a different park it managed in the Republic of Congo.
The non-profit organization received official notice from Environment Minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous regarding the government's unilateral decision on Monday.
Chad's environment ministry pointed to the resurgence of poaching in its natural parks as linked to insufficient investment by the charity. African Parks, founded in 2000, aims to protect Africa's national parks and advance conservation efforts, managing over 20 million hectares of protected area.
The charity has faced issues in other areas too, including its reluctance to publish an independent report into alleged abuses by employees in the Republic of Congo.
This decision from the Chadian government represents another setback for Prince Harry's charitable endeavors, following his resignation as patron of Sentebale, a charity he founded for children orphaned by AIDS in Botswana and Lesotho, earlier this year.
