Chad ends African Parks' management of Zakouma and Ennedi parks
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Chad revoked African Parks' management of Greater Zakouma and Ennedi on 6 October 2025, citing failure to stop poaching. Follow the Money reported irregularity allegations and EU pressure, which African Parks disputes in part, and the protection of both parks is at stake.
- Government of Chad — under the 2026 agreements the state keeps sovereign powers and joins management through deputy directors EU Delegation to Chad
- African Parks — management authority for Ennedi and Greater Zakouma Africanews
What happened
Chad revoked African Parks' management authority for Ennedi and Greater Zakouma on 6 October 2025, citing failure to stop poaching, insufficient cooperation and a 'disrespectful attitude' (Africanews, 7 October 2025).
EU activities were suspended for 90 days (Africanews, 7 October 2025), and Follow the Money reported that the government backed down within four days after an EU threat to withdraw 20 million euros.
On 2 July 2026 new agreements replaced 'management transfer' with 'joint management' on a 15-year term, under which the state keeps sovereign powers (EU Delegation to Chad, 3 July 2026).
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Allegations, not established: former managers allege about 1 million euros a year in irregularities, which Follow the Money puts at about 15% of the budget. African Parks says it dismissed three people in 2025 for about 14,000 dollars in misuse.
- None on record Follow the Money's allegations rely on former staff and leaked documents, and African Parks disputes some of them.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: Follow the Money reports 15 elephant tusks missing from an inventory, which African Parks denies, and a rhino-monitoring aircraft crashed in May 2025, killing two people.
- None on record The Africanews report was read only as a summary; the full text was not reviewed.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the 90-day EU suspension has ended.
- None on record African Parks' 2025 annual report was not reviewed; it is published as a PDF.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Africanews report on Chad ending ties with African Parks (7 October 2025)Africanews · 2025-10-07
- Follow the Money investigation of African ParksFollow the Money · 2025-10-31
- EU Delegation to Chad statement on continued support for protected areasEU Delegation to Chad · 2026-07-03
Connected cases
- African Parks Odzala-Kokoua abuses (Republic of Congo) Republic of Congo · 2010–2025
- African Parks (NGO) — here: Organisation whose management authority was revoked; there: Manager of Odzala-Kokoua under a 25-year agreement since 2010
- Half-Earth and 30x30 advocacy funding (Wyss Campaign for Nature) Global · 2016–2026
- African Parks (NGO) — here: Organisation whose management authority was revoked; there: Recipient of Wyss Foundation commitments
- UNESCO World Heritage listings and Indigenous rights Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda · 1991–2025
- African Parks (NGO) — here: Organisation whose management authority was revoked; there: Manager of Odzala-Kokoua
- Walton family grants and board ties link Conservation International to Walmart United States · 2001–2026
- African Parks (NGO) — here: Organisation whose management authority was revoked; there: Park manager at Odzala-Kokoua; subject of the investigation