An African wildlife charity part run by the Duke of Sussex has seen its mandates to manage key animal reservations in Chad withdrawn by the country’s government.
African Parks managed 22 national parks and protected areas across 12 countries, including 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.
But the non-profit organisation, of which Harry is a board member and former president, said on Tuesday that the Chad government had ended its mandates to manage the wildlife reserves.
They were informed of the government’s “unilateral decision” on Monday in an official letter from environment minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous.
The charity added in a statement that it has “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”.
Mr Djamous said in a statement that African Parks had showed “a recurring indelicate and disrespectful attitude toward the government”, the Associated Press reported.
He added there had been a resurgence in poaching and a lack of investment at the reserves managed by the conservation group, AP said.
The decision ends a 15-year partnership between African Parks and the Chad government to tackle poaching and protect elephant populations at the two reserves.
The charity, founded in 2000, aims to protect Africa’s national parks and advance conservation in the continent and around the world, particularly in countries that struggle to look after their wildlife due to poverty and conflict.
It manages more than 20 million hectares of protected area with the goal of making each park “ecologically, socially and financially sustainable for the long term”.
Earlier this year, the charity acknowledged its employees had perpetrated human rights abuses against indigenous people in the rainforests of the Republic of the Congo.
Its announcement followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations that guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, raped and tortured local people in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
The Chad government’s decision is a new blow to Harry’s charitable endeavours after he stepped down earlier this year from Sentebale, an organisation he founded to help children orphaned by Aids in Botswana and Lesotho.
His resignation as patron of the charity followed a highly publicised boardroom battle with chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka.
Dr Chandauka previously levelled accusations of bullying and harassment against the duke, which he denied.
