How conservation is helping bring peace to conflict-affected South Sudan

Bringing a nation together

After decades of neglect, the most pressing priorities were training, provision of equipment and the development of basic infrastructure. In the longer term, we knew that success would hinge on addressing community needs. Focusing our efforts on Western Equatoria, we have worked closely with communities and government officials to build bridges, defuse conflict and secure commitment to a common conservation goal. Harnessing community and government goodwill has been crucial, and the biodiversity monitoring and protected area management programme was designed with that aim in mind.

As well as fostering positive relationships between communities and South Sudan’s Wildlife Service, we are working to bring different communities together – engaging them in training and sustainable livelihood activities – so that conservation can act as a dialogue facilitator and help defuse tensions.

Revealing hidden treasures

Fauna & Flora’s long-term vision for conservation in South Sudan is to ensure there is a network of functioning protected areas that will safeguard crucial habitat and the biodiversity it harbours. This includes key populations of some of Africa’s most iconic species, from lion and wild dog to forest and savannah elephants. Southern National Park is the cornerstone of that ambition, but it’s not the only area worthy of attention.

The band of dense tropical forest running along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in the extreme south-west of the country harbours an exceptional range of species. The remarkable diversity of this tropical belt is due largely to the fact that it lies at the eastern edge of the Congo Basin, at the point where Central and East Africa’s respective assemblages of animals and plants collide and coalesce.

Patrolling and camera-trap deployment in this area has focused on two specific reserves. Forest elephants are among the key species recorded in Bire Kpatuo Game Reserve, while the nearby Bangangai Game Reserve is evidently a vital stronghold for numerous primate species including the endangered eastern chimpanzee and a rare species of red colobus monkey, as well as for rare forest antelopes and charismatic carnivores such as the African golden cat.

Fauna & Flora’s work with communities in Bangangai has led to the creation of two Community Conserved Areas – the first of their kind in South Sudan – which operate as a buffer zone around the main reserve.

Community engagement

This region is also the nexus for a notorious wildlife trafficking corridor linking Central and North Africa. From primates to pangolins, many already endangered animals have been under tremendous pressure from commercial poaching and unsustainable levels of wild meat harvesting as local people, left with few other options, try to meet their basic needs. As part of our efforts to mitigate these threats, we are not only supporting and equipping Wildlife Service staff, but also training Community Wildlife Ambassadors.

Drawn from the nearby villages and selected with the help of local chiefs, these people have a particular knowledge of or interest in conservation. They are integrated into wildlife management activities focused on biomonitoring, which helps to enhance understanding within neighbouring communities of the importance of the game reserves and the mandate of the Wildlife Service.

By involving communities in conservation, we have gained their trust and built a sense of ownership and responsibility. They are invested in the transformation process, and motivated by the opportunities it provides, including employment. In due course, wildlife tourism could open up further possibilities, increasing the incentives to save nature, together, in South Sudan.