Chad ends partnership with Prince Harry-linked wildlife group

Chad’s government has announced the termination of its partnership with African Parks, a wildlife conservation charity that Prince Harry is highly involved in. This cutting of ties was announced by the Chadian government on 6th October, as reported by BBC News.

African Parks was founded in 2000 and grew to be responsible for protecting over 22 national parks across 12 different African countries. The charity’s mission spanned over 20 million hectares of ecological areas to make these parks as sustainable as possible. It helped look after the Ennedi Natural Cultural Reserve and the Great Zakouma Ecosystem, two big wildlife reserves located in Chad.

The role that non-profit organisations such as African Parks play in reducing environmental destruction cannot be understated, especially in the context of countries like Chad, whose ecosystems are threatened by the rising conflict in the country, such as its tensions with Libya and Sudan.

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, was the president of the charity for six years. In 2023, Harry stepped down from this position and currently sits on its board of directors.

In official statements from African Parks, they said they 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.”

Despite this, African Parks has come under fire for alleged violations of human rights, as well as the denial of access for indigenous people and local communities when it comes to using these sites. This culminated earlier in the year, when the organisation admitted to abusing members of the local community in the Republic of Congo. Following this, they refused to publish an individual report examining these abuses.

The governing body stated that African Parks had failed to prevent poaching in two sites under its protection, prompting the central African country to end their 15-year partnership agreement. Chad’s environment ministry went onto describe the charity as ‘disrespectful’ and ‘arrogant’, citing a lack of co-operation with authorities as destructive to their relationship.

Hassan Bakhit Djamous, Chad’s Environment Minister, sent out an official letter announcing the government’s “unilateral decision” to cut ties with the charity.

This decision is a blow to the image of Prince Harry, bringing into question the realities and ethical implications of his charity ventures. Despite the Prince Harry-tied project having altruistic ambitions on the surface, doubts relating to the reliability of the practices enacted by African Parks are under greater scrutiny than ever.

BBC News, Maghrebi.org