Prince Harry has suffered a new blow as the government of Chad terminated its conservation agreement with the charity African Parks, where he serves as a board member.
Chad’s environment minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous announced the decision in a statement, bringing an end to his government’s 15-year collaboration with the non-profit.
African Parks has now lost its mandate to oversee wildlife reserves in Chad, with an increase in poaching and insufficient financial commitment to the reserves under African Parks' management cited as reasons for ending the partnership.
The minister also pointed to a "recurring indelicate and disrespectful attitude toward the government" as another key factor in the decision.
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Despite having secured a renewal of their Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve management agreement as recently as April, the charity now faces the complete dissolution of their Chad operations.
African Parks’s mandate covered the Ennedi area and the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, which includes both Zakouma and Siniaka-Minia national parks.
Following the announcement, the charity stated it was engaged in discussions to "better understand the government's position”.
This included exploring "the best way forward to support the continued protection of these landscapes that are critical to conservation”.
African Parks, the charity where Prince Harry serves on the board, has lost its mandate to oversee wildlife reserves in Chad
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The charity maintained that elephant numbers at Zakouma rose from 450 when they assumed control in 2010 to more than 550 by 2019.
Prince Harry led African Parks as president from 2017 to 2023 before joining its board.
GB News have approached representatives for the Duke of Sussex and African Parks for comment.
African Parks, established in 2000, built its reputation by assuming direct control of degraded wildlife areas across Africa, implementing strict management practices whilst governments retained oversight authority.
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The charity was accused of 'indelicate and disrespectful attitude toward the government' by Chad’s environment minister
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This latest setback compounds earlier controversies that emerged in May, when the organisation admitted its guards had committed human rights violations against Indigenous Baka people in the Republic of Congo's Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
In a statement issued at the time, African Parks said: "We deeply regret the pain and suffering that these have caused to the victims."
"We are committed to addressing the shortcomings that have been identified. Further, where sufficient evidence is available, we will take action against staff members implicated in incidents not yet known about, or that had not been adequately dealt with.
"The Board is confident that the institutional improvements implemented over the past five years, along with those planned for the coming months—incorporating valuable recommendations from Omnia—will mitigate risks in the future."
The Duke of Sussex led African Parks as president from 2017 to 2023 before joining its board
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Prince Harry is understood to have been closely involved in understanding the findings of the review and implementing necessary changes.
Following the troubling revelations, the communications director of indigenous people's rights group Survival International, Jonathan Mazower, urged Harry to either transform the organisation's approach entirely or resign from his position.
"We think that Prince Harry and anyone else involved in African Parks should either commit the organisation to a completely new way of doing business or step down," Mr Mazower told Newsweek.