Chad has severed its relationship with African Parks, a wildlife charity previously associated with Prince Harry.
The country’s environment minister, Hassan Bakhit Djamous, issued a scathing four-page statement accusing the organization of being “disrespectful” and marking an end to their 15-year partnership.
Prince Harry, now 41, served as president of African Parks for six years before ascending to its governing board of directors in 2023. The news comes as Prince Harry donates $1.5million to charity as he opens up on ‘essential’ work.
However, following earlier controversies surrounding his charitable work this year, Harry faces another setback as Mr. Djamous labeled African Parks’ behavior as “a recurring indelicate and disrespectful attitude toward the government”.
In response to the criticism, which also included allegations of a resurgence in poaching and insufficient investment at the reserves managed by the group, African Parks stated it plans to “explore the best way forward”, reports the Mirror.
The charity announced today that it is currently in discussions to “better understand the government’s position” and “explore the best way forward to support the continued protection of these critical landscapes”.
“African Parks will continue to keep its partners and stakeholders informed, as further clarity is obtained,” said the charity, which has had ties with Chad since 2010.
African Parks had been leading anti-poaching efforts and working to restore elephant populations at the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve and the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, encompassing the Zakouma and Siniaka-Minia national parks.
The charity reports that elephant numbers at Zakouma National Parks grew from 450 in 2010, when it assumed control of the location, to more than 550 by 2019.
However, last year, proof of intimidation and mistreatment in the rainforests of the Republic of the Congo by guards overseen and compensated by African Parks came to light.
This included allegations of rapes and beatings.
The press discovered firsthand accounts of atrocities committed against the Baka, an indigenous community formerly referred to as pygmies, to prevent them from accessing forests where they have gathered food, fished, hunted and obtained medicines for thousands of years.
The charity stated in May last year: “The board of African Parks has reviewed Omnia’s advice and endorsed the management plan and timeframes to implement the recommendations resulting from this process.
“African Parks acknowledges that, in some incidents, human rights abuses have occurred, and we deeply regret the pain and suffering that these have caused to the victims.
“Omnia’s process also highlighted several failures of our systems and processes that were insufficient for the level of responsibility given to us, particularly in the early years of our management of Odzala.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
