Johannesburg, South Africa - LGT Venture Philanthropy Foundation (LGT VP) is pleased to announce our new partnership with non-profit organization, African Parks, to improve conservation efforts across Sub-Saharan Africa. LGT VP’s non-programmatic grant will focus on institutional strengthening to support African Parks’ mission to manage at least 30 million hectares and enable other incubator conservation NGOs to protect an additional 10 million hectares by 2030.
African Parks was founded in 2000 in response to the dramatic degradation of Protected Areas in Africa – mainly due to mismanagement and lack of funding. Through its Public-Private Partnership model, African Parks takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of a Protected Area (e.g., a national park) in partnership with governments and local communities. Currently, African Parks manages 22 Protected Areas covering 20 million hectares in 12 African countries – this is the largest and most ecologically diverse amount of land under protection by a single NGO in Africa. African Parks has identified 161 priority areas, covering 4% of Africa’s total landmass, which if well protected, could offer globally significant biodiversity benefits.
LGT VP’s environment strategy is anchored on protection and regeneration of critical ecosystems while providing sustainable livelihoods to local communities. African Parks has been identified as a reputable organization focusing on protected area management across Sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, African Parks will extend LGT VP’s environment portfolio across key African landscapes (e.g., Congo Basin, Okavango-Zambezi Basin). Oliver Karius, CEO and Partner at LGT VP, says: "LGT VP is committed to the urgent global mission of protecting 30% of the Earth by 2030 to prevent irreversible biodiversity loss. We believe African Parks offers an effective platform with a wide reach that can help drive this mission, and we are looking forward to working together on this critical work."
Peter Fearnhead, CEO and co-founder of African Parks, adds: "We are delighted to partner with LGT Venture Philanthropy, a foundation aligned with our mission at African Parks. LGT VP’s support will enable the protection of critical ecosystems to provide stability and drive conservation-led economies for communities within and around the parks we manage."
African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization that takes on complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. African Parks manages 22 national parks and protected areas in 12 countries covering over 20 million hectares in Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Read the full press release here.
LGT Venture Philanthropy is an independent charitable foundation established in 2007 with teams in Switzerland, Sub-Saharan Africa, and India. The Foundation strives to improve the quality of life of people facing disadvantages, contribute to healthy ecosystems, and build resilient, inclusive, and prosperous communities. LGT VP focuses on strengthening the capabilities of locally rooted organizations that deliver effective, scalable solutions across health, education, and the environment contributing directly to the SDGs.
For more information, please visit www.lgtvp.com.