African Parks, a South African non-profit conservation group that has been managing over 19 protected areas in the continent, has received a hefty $100 million pledge from the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation. The most significant contribution ever made to conservation groups in the African continent. The grant is said to help expand African Park's reach and efforts to preserve a significant chunk of Africa's biodiversity for the benefit of the animals and local people in the long term, as reported by GoodNewsNetwork.
What is African Parks?
African Parks is a non-profit conservation group responsible for the rehabilitation and long-term management of numerous national parks in the continent. In partnership with local communities and governments, Africa Parks manages 19 protected areas and national parks in 11 countries, covering roughly 14 million hectares in Benin, Angola, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chan, Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
Founded in 2000 as a response to the dramatic decline in protected areas due to lack of funding and poor management. African Parks focuses on both economic development and poverty alleviation for local communities to ensure that the national parks are ecologically, financially, socially sustainable in the long term.
African Parks is dedicated to saving wildlife in the continent, which boasts of some of the planet's most spectacular species, park protection with more than 1000 park rangers that provide the safety of wildlife and people, and community development.
With the goal to manage 30 national parks by 2030, the recent $100 million grant will help expand African Park's efforts to conserve natural biodiversity and further its effort in supporting the local communities.
Rob and Melani Walton $100 Million Donation: The Largest Conservation Donation to Date
With over 3,000 full-time staff, 98% are from the local communities, African Parks is one of the largest employers in many of their regions. Poaching, particularly, has been curtailed and almost eliminated in most of the protected areas under the non-profit group's management, with more than 80% of the vital wildlife population on the rise.
In the previous year alone, more than 100,000 people have received healthcare from mobile clinics and hospitals. African Parks supports over 100,000 children having access to education provided by schools under the support of the parks. The goal is to directly manage 30 parks measuring and more than 30 million hectares by 2030.
The couple behind the transformational gift, Rob and Melani Walton, have been longtime supporters of conservation and sustainability efforts around the globe and have been invaluable partners to the conservation group since its inception. According to the Rob and Melani Foundation, as global citizens, the couple believes that we are responsible for protecting the planet, its people, and its species to create a dynamic ecosystem.
The $100 million grant will be allocated over the succeeding five years, with $75 million allocated to create an endowment that ensures the parks' long-term funding. The remaining grant will be used to sustain the park under the management of African Parks.
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