The Boma-Gambella cross-border biodiversity conservation project is supported by the European Union (EU). These two national parks are located in Southern Sudan and Ethiopia respectively. The EU has just awarded a €4.4 million grant for the implementation of the project. Through this grant, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which is coordinating the project, will improve the governance of natural resources and people in the Boma-Gambella Landscape, in particular by “establishing collaborative cross-border management of protected areas and interzones in the Boma-Gambella Landscape”.
IGAD has appointed the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to implement the cross-border biodiversity conservation project. The American non-governmental organization (NGO) will establish systems and protocols for transboundary collaboration. WCS will also build the capacity of eco-guards, deal with planning, scientific collaboration and information sharing, wildlife law enforcement and management, and community-based interventions.
A rich biodiversity
According to the IGAD, the landscape of Boma-Gambella is a diverse system of wetlands, rivers, savannahs, open forests, bush and highlands. It is home to large numbers of white-eared gazelles, sassabies, mongalla gazelles and other species that migrate seasonally from their wet season habitat in South Sudan to their dry season habitat in Ethiopia.
With EU funding, IGAD and the governments of these two East African countries should pay special attention to preserving the biodiversity of the Boma and Gambella parks, which are still little visited by tourists.
Inès Magoum