“It is together that we will be able to save our biodiversity. This is a principle of effectiveness. But it is also a principle of humility.” – Prince Albert II of Monaco
Biodiversity—the variety of species and ecosystems they inhabit—is core to not just a healthy planet but human well-being itself. As part of a global ecosystem, we rely on biodiversity to maintain an ecological balance for climate regulation and as a source of vital resources, from food and water to medicine and clean air.
Peace Parks Foundation is celebrating International Day of Biological Diversity (May 22) by embodying the ‘Agreement to Action’ theme from COP 15 of implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Rewilding—relocating species in overpopulated wildlife areas to decimated landscapes to restore their role in the ecosystems to which they belong—is crucial to building back a less vulnerable, more stable planet.
Rewilding Africa is one of the Peace Parks’ most ambitious projects. The project first began in 2001 with the translocation of 25 elephants from Kruger National Park across the international border to Limpopo National Park in Mozambique (both these parks are vital components of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area). To date, through the support of the donor community and dedicated partnerships with fellow conservation organisations, Peace Parks has translocated more than 17,000 animals of 27 different species to 11 parks across southern Africa.
After more than four decades, last year, Zinave National Park in Mozambique welcomed back both black and white rhinos thanks to the rewilding efforts of Peace Parks, its partners, and donors. As a beacon of hope and growth and a testament to the incredible rewilding efforts, a little rhino calf was born just two weeks after the relocation.
Peace Parks Foundation, through conservation at a transboundary landscape scale, is building back biodiversity across borders by reintroducing wildlife to ecosystems where species once thrived. We demonstrate through our work that it is possible to go from agreement to action. Given the chance, people can live in harmony with nature to adapt to climate change and improve human well-being, by creating space for biodiversity to flourish.
It’s not too late to #BuildBackBiodiversity. Visit the Peace Parks Foundation website to see how you can play an active part in going from agreement to action.
