African Heads of State Launch Keystone Partnership to Safeguard 162 Essential Protected Areas

NEW YORK, NY — September 29, 2025 — Presidents of Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa launched the Africa Keystone Protected Area Partnership at an ICCF Group reception on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, in partnership with the African Wildlife Foundation and with support from the Rob Walton Foundation.

The reception provided an opportunity for donors, Heads of State, and the African Union to express their commitments to initiate the Africa Keystone Protected Area Partnership, which facilitates increased investment in Africa’s protected areas and provides an additional mechanism to deliver on the objectives of the African Union Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, protecting countries’ most critical protected areas for the promotion of biodiversity and support to communities and sustainable development.

H.E. Moses Vilakati, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union

Commitments to the Keystone Protected Area Partnership were made by:

• H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa
• H.E. Duma Gideon Boko, President of the Republic of Botswana
• H.E. Daniel Chapo, President of the Republic of Mozambique
• H.E. Ndemupelila Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of Namibia
• H.E. Moses Vilakati, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment, African Union

Senator Chris Coons, Co-Chair of the U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus

Heads of State were introduced by Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Representative August Pfluger (R-TX), co-chair and member of the U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus, respectively.

Also voicing their support of the partnership were Heads of Delegation, Ministers, and Ambassadors from the African Union, Angola, Congo, Gabon, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia, among others.

Representatives of the donor community also expressed their commitment, including:

• Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO, Global Environment Facility
• Cristián Samper, Managing Director, Bezos Earth Fund
• Rob Walton, Founder, Rob Walton Foundation

Rob Walton, Founder, Rob Walton Foundation

Also attending the event were participants from more than 20 countries, including leaders such as Daniela Raik, Chief Conservation Officer and interim CEO, Conservation International; Jennifer Morris, CEO, The Nature Conservancy; Adam Falk, President and CEO, and John Calvelli, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, Wildlife Conservation Society; Carter Roberts, President and CEO, World Wildlife Fund; Duko Hopman, Executive Director, Rob Walton Foundation; and Tracy Farrell, IUCN North America and CEO, IUCN–US.

Additional ICCF partners and collaborators attending included agencies from the UK and French governments, alongside African Parks, Bloomberg Ocean Fund, Campaign for Nature, Enduring Earth, Fauna & Flora, Frankfurt Zoological Society, IFAW, Rainforest Trust, Re:wild, The Royal Foundation, Trafigura, TRAFFIC, and ZOMALAB.

About the Africa Keystone Protected Area Partnership

The Africa Keystone Protected Area Partnership is a new collaboration bringing together African governments, communities, NGOs, and funders to protect 162 of Africa’s most irreplaceable protected areas by 2035. One of the tools to achieve this goal is Collaborative Management Partnerships (CMPs) in which African governments invite NGO and community partners to bolster local capacity, provide technical expertise, and strengthen on-the-ground management. The partnership is flexible and supports different models based on local context. The Keystone Partnership includes collaborations with the Rob Walton Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), African Parks (AP), Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), the African Union, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), and the ICCF Group, among others. Collaborations with the partnership will continue to grow as the initiative expands.

This partnership is a mechanism to deliver on commitments for previously established regional and global initiatives, such as the Kunming- Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), African Union Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (ABSAP) and the Miombo Woodlands Initiative to further protect the rich biodiversity within these areas and the surrounding communities that rely on the ecosystem services they provide.

The Africa Keystone Protected Area Partnership boldly seeks to expand upon the vision and success the included countries have demonstrated in conservation of their protected areas. We look forward to advancing our shared objectives in the protection of Africa’s ecosystems and communities.