Pendjari Conservancy

Pendjari Conservancy would be developed as a landscape-scale, community-led conservation and destination development initiative surrounding Pendjari National Park, one of the most important remaining wildlife landscapes in West Africa and a core component of the transboundary W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) Complex. Building on the significant conservation and community-development work already being undertaken by the Government of Benin and African Parks, the pilot would seek to strengthen the wider destination proposition beyond the protected-area boundary, creating a coordinated platform for community enterprise, sustainable agriculture, nature-based tourism, cultural experiences, landscape restoration and private-sector investment.

With thousands of people living around Pendjari and existing initiatives in sustainable farming, beekeeping, natural-resource access and human-wildlife-conflict mitigation, there is a strong foundation upon which to develop a community-led conservancy model that connects thriving communities with a thriving national park. The initiative would be developed collaboratively with the Government of Benin, African Parks, local authorities, community organisations, NGOs and private-sector partners, complementing, not duplicating the existing management of the national park and helping position Pendjari as a globally recognised West African conservation and sustainable tourism destination.