Prince Harry may have a new headache in connection with his charitable endeavors. The British royal is on the board of African Parks, a nonprofit wildlife conservation group that has been fired by officials in Chad, one of about a dozen countries in Africa where it manages protected areas.
The government of Chad severed ties with African Parks, which is based in South Africa, according to a statement from the charity on Monday. The group said that it had received official correspondence from Hassan Bakhit Djamous, the minister of environment, informing it of the government’s “unilateral decision to terminate the two management mandates it has with African Parks.”
The ministry criticized the group for failing in its mandate to curb poaching, among other allegations of mismanagement, according to The Times of London and news media in Africa. The minister did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The termination comes less than two months after Harry, the Duke of Sussex, was cleared by Britain’s charities’ regulator over accusations of widespread bullying and harassment at Sentebale, a charity he co-founded to support young people in southern Africa. That dispute, which played out in public over many months, prompted him to resign from the charity.
The latest friction casts another shadow over the philanthropic efforts of the prince, whose website notes that he sits on the board of African Parks and that he “has dedicated his adult life to advancing causes that he is passionate about and that advance permanent change for people and places.” Representatives for Harry did not respond to requests for comment.
In a statement, African Parks called the decision by Chad to terminate a management arrangement for three parks in the country “unilateral” and said it had “initiated discussions with the ministry to understand the government’s position and to explore the best possible way forward.” It noted that “significant conservation and social gains” had been achieved over the past 15 years.
The termination follows months of conflict between the conservation group and Chad’s environmental officials. In April, Follow the Money, a nonprofit investigative news site in Europe, reported that Chad’s government was investigating African Parks after reports that poachers had killed about two dozen animals in the first three months of the year, including giraffes, buffaloes and critically endangered rhinos. The ministry had been left in the dark by the nonprofit about these and other incidents, according to the report.
In Chad, African Parks was responsible for managing the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve and the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, two areas that cover three parks. Chad’s government began working with African Parks in 2010, overcoming some initial resistance to working with a foreign nonprofit, and later expanded the group’s mandate as its efforts led to a decline in poaching, The New York Times reported in 2018.
Separately, the group responded in May to accusations made in 2023 of human rights abuses against Indigenous people at the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo, another site under the group’s management. African Parks acknowledged that such “abuses have occurred” and said it was committed to making improvements.
Among the group’s supporters are the Walmart heir Rob Walton and his wife, Melani Lowman-Walton, who in 2021 pledged $100 million to African Parks through their charitable foundation. According to African Parks, its partners and supporters also include the foundation of Howard G. Buffett, a son of the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, as well as the Pershing Square Foundation, the charity of the billionaire hedge fund manager and vocal social media personality, Bill Ackman.
In 2015, Taylor Swift donated proceeds from a video depicting a movie being filmed in Africa in the 1950s to African Parks.
Ephrat Livni is a Times reporter covering breaking news around the world. She is based in Washington.
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