African Parks has announced the Rob Walton Foundation’s US$4.6 million commitment to supporting biodiversity monitoring, community development and park infrastructure in four protected areas.
The funding will benefit Majete Wildlife Reserve in Malawi, Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo, Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zakouma National Park in Chad.
The grant is tied to conservation performance measured through verifiable nature units (VNUs). According to African Parks, each unit represents one square kilometre where ecological integrity has been maintained or improved over a year. The outcomes are independently verified and linked to the cost of achieving and sustaining them.
“We see VNUs as an exciting mechanism for directing capital towards verified conservation outcomes,” said Rob Walton Foundation Executive Director Duko Hopman.
