Situated in the south of South Sudan, Badingilo and Boma national parks make up nearly three million hectares and form an integral part of the larger 20-million-hectare ecosystem that stretches through the Jonglei corridor and to the White Nile. Known as the Great Nile Migration Landscape (GNML), this area is home to the largest land mammal migration on Earth, where millions of white-eared kob, Mongalla gazelle, tiang and Bohor reedbuck merge in Badingilo during the wet season for breeding, before migrating north and east towards Boma National Park and the Sudd, and into Gambella National Park in Ethiopia. This is a remarkable and unmatched wildlife phenomenon across a landscape of immense ecological importance.
In 2022, to ensure the long-term ecological, social, and economic sustainability of these globally important parks, the government of the Republic of South Sudan signed a 10-year management agreement with African Parks. This includes the management of the wildlife corridors and proposed extension zones in the broader landscape – an area of well over three million hectares. These natural resources are the lifeblood of the White Nile ecosystem and provide sustenance and livelihoods for millions of people.
This commitment by the South Sudanese Government is an important step in the long-term conservation of these vital ecosystems and in securing lasting benefits for people and wildlife.
Through effective management, infrastructure, conservation law enforcement, and collaboration with local communities, these protected areas have the potential to continue providing natural resources to the communities in the landscape and more broadly to the people of South Sudan in a way that supports sustainable development, people and wildlife.
