African Parks Network on Tuesday conducted a handover of its regional operations manager position in South Sudan, introducing Pierre Armand Roulet as the incoming manager to work alongside the government on wildlife conservation.
African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on responsibility for the long-term management of protected areas in partnership with governments and local communities.
The organization signed a 10-year management agreement with the Government of South Sudan in August 2022 to protect and manage Boma National Park and Badingilo National Park as part of the Great Nile Migration Landscape (GNML).
The handover brought together African Parks Chief Operations Officer Charles Wells, Wildlife Conservation and Tourism Minister Denay Jock Chagor and Presidential Adviser Joseph Ngere.
Roulet described the regional operations manager position as a senior and critical role within the organisation, particularly in providing management support to the ministry and the South Sudanese government.
“As the minister said, we are actually here just to do a handover of our regional operations manager, which is a senior position and a very critical position within African Parks and within the management and support to the ministry and to South Sudan,” he said.
As part of the transition, the delegation toured Badingilo and Boma national parks and other areas of the country’s wildlife landscape.
Roulet said the visit reinforced the importance of South Sudan’s natural resources and the need to develop their economic potential.
“Investment in mining is important, investment in oil is important, but … this is the one truly sustainable resource for the country,” he said, referring to wildlife.
He said African Parks wanted to support the development of conservation and the economic benefits it could generate for South Sudan.
Meanwhile, Charles Wells, the organisation’s Chief Operations Officer, also reaffirmed their commitment to the country, saying government support had been central to its conservation work.
“Without them our work wouldn’t be possible,” Wells said, referring to the partnership with the South Sudanese government.
He added that the government’s foresight and investment in conservation were important in protecting the country’s wildlife resources.
“When the oil runs out, the wildlife will still be there,” Wells said, describing wildlife as a resource that could benefit South Sudan for generations.
Wildlife Minister Denay Jock Chagor welcomed the management transition and praised the African Parks team for its work in the country’s national parks.
“We are very happy with this team. These are the people who have been working behind the scenes and doing all the work that everybody is seeing in South Sudan and our national parks; this is the team that is behind that,” Chagor said.
Presidential Adviser Joseph Ngere said African Parks had been working with the government since the two parties signed an agreement on August 25, 2022, to support wildlife conservation in Boma and Badingilo national parks.
He said the partnership had helped highlight the scale of the country’s wildlife resources, citing an estimated six million animals moving across the landscape.
“I am appealing to our people in South Sudan, particularly those who are happy killing these animals for business,” he said, urging them to recognise wildlife as a resource that could generate economic benefits.
African Parks reaffirmed its commitment to working with the South Sudanese government to protect wildlife and support the future of conservation in the country.
and then