The Nature Conservancy in Africa

05/05/2026

The entire world needs the Congo Basin. Its intact forests and peatlands are the planet’s largest net forest carbon sink, capturing more carbon than the Amazon. Its peatlands, which account for just 4% of the basin’s land cover, store an amount of carbon equivalent to three years of global fossil fuel emissions. The forests are cloud makers, too, drawing massive quantities of water from the earth, exhaling v***r, and sending “flying rivers” to swathes of Central and West Africa, where millions rely on rain-fed agriculture.

Discover how we are taking action in the Congo Basin that will yield the greatest benefits for conservation and communities. https://nature.ly/4squziu

📸 © Roshni Lodhia

29/04/2026

Lake Tanganyika is the world’s longest lake and second deepest, and its crystal clear waters hold more than 250 species of gem-colored cichlids found nowhere else on Earth. Shared by Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia, the lake provides food and livelihoods to more than 10 million people. With our partners in the Tuungane Project, we have supported communities to fish sustainably and to protect rare fish habitats as reserves. Now we are advancing community-led conservation across borders, targeting key freshwater biodiversity areas. Read more in our Africa 2025 Year In Review: https://nature.ly/4squziu 📸: © Roshni Lodhia

24/04/2026

In villages along the Kafue–West Lunga corridor, homes and farms sit next to wild forests. As elephants return, families face new risks when fetching water or protecting crops.

The Nature Conservancy and partners are working with communities to make life safer. More than 120 trained community rangers and forest officers are now patrolling key areas, the first-ever security presence in this corridor. Farmers are receiving nonlethal tools like flare bangers and fog horns to protect their livelihoods.

This work is about connecting the needs of people and wildlife. Read the full story in our Africa 2025 Year In Review. https://nature.ly/4vWio03

📸 © Patricia Deege/TNC Photo Contest 2022

22/04/2026

20 years ago, on Earth Day 2006, The Nature Conservancy made a decision to invest in Africa. The journey began and today we have partnerships in 21 African countries grounded in science, standing alongside communities and local leadership. Together we have conserved millions of hectares of land and ocean, restored rivers and strengthened livelihoods.

This Earth Day, we’re reflecting on nature’s extraordinary power to inspire, heal and connect us - and carrying forward the conservation legacy that has guided our work in Africa for the past two decades.

As we look to the future, we’re reminded that real conservation progress happens when people come together. Read more: https://nature.ly/4squziu

Thank you for being part of our journey to shape the next 20 years of conservation impact in Africa. Happy Earth Day!



📸: © Roshni Lodhia, © Ami Vitale, © Tobias Metzner/TNC Photo Contest 2023, © Alvin Cheung/TNC Photo Contest 2019

21/04/2026

The Nature Conservancy is proud to be celebrating our 75th anniversary year and 20 years in Africa. Here in Africa, we've written a remarkable story of optimism, determination, evolution and resilience—and YOU have been part of that story every step of the way.

As we look forward to Earth Day and the future ahead, we’re reminded that real progress happens when people come together.

Thank you for being part of this work as we work to shape the next 75 years of conservation progress.

https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/earth-day/?en_txn1=s_p.gd.eg.earthday.ed26



© Matjaz Krivic/TNC Photo Contest 2022

20/04/2026

The powerful Benguela Current, flowing from the tip of South Africa, along Namibia, to Angola, is a superhighway for the ocean’s most majestic travelers. Humpback and southern right whales journey thousands of kilometers along this food-rich corridor during their long trek between icy Antarctic feeding grounds and tropical breeding waters, while Cape gannets, terns, petrels, and wandering albatrosses trace invisible routes between ocean and continent.

But with illegal foreign fleets stealing millions of tons of fish here each year, the need for action is urgent. Together, we can secure a brighter future for 145 million hectares of ocean and the millions of people who rely on its fisheries. The Nature Conservancy and our partners are working to conserve this extraordinary current and the life it sustains.

Discover how we have dived in to help save the Benguela Current in our Africa 2025 Year In Review: https://nature.ly/4sp3qfW

📸 © Cedric Peneau/TNC Photo Contest 2022

17/04/2026

On this Gabon National Women’s Day, we proudly celebrate the incredible women of TNC Gabon whose leadership, expertise, and commitment strengthen conservation efforts across the country every day.

From communication, where stories inspire action, to finance, ensuring transparency and sustainability; from program teams, driving impactful conservation on the ground, to direction and leadership, providing vision and strategic guidance,TNC Gabon women are at the heart of our mission to protect Gabon’s extraordinary natural heritage.

Today is also an opportunity to honor Gabonese women-led initiatives within local communities. Across landscapes and seascapes, women are leading fishery coorperative, managing natural resources, promoting sustainable livelihoods, and passing on knowledge that protects forests, rivers, and biodiversity to future generation. Their leadership not only strengthens community resilience but also amplifies the impact of our conservation work.
Happy National Women’s Day to all the women shaping a more sustainable Gabon. 💚

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À l’occasion de la Journée Nationale de la Femme Gabonaise, nous célébrons avec fierté les femmes de TNC Gabon, dont le leadership, l’expertise et l’engagement renforcent chaque jour les efforts de conservation à travers le pays.

De la communication, à la finance, aux programmes, qui déploient des actions de conservation à fort impact sur le terrain, à la direction, qui apporte vision stratégique et leadership, les femmes de TNC Gabon sont au cœur de notre mission de protection du patrimoine naturel exceptionnel du pays.

Cette journée est également l’occasion de mettre en lumière les initiatives portées par les femmes gabonaises au sein des communautés locales. En forêt comme en mer, des femmes dirigent des coopératives de pêche, gèrent durablement les ressources naturelles, font la promotion des moyens de subsistance durables et transmettent des savoirs essentiels à la préservation de la biodiversité pour les futures générations. Leur leadership renforce la résilience des communautés tout en amplifiant l’impact de nos actions de conservation.

Bonne Journée Nationale de la Femme à toutes celles qui œuvrent pour un Gabon plus durable. 💚

📸: TNC and Roshni Lodhia

16/04/2026

15/04/2026

One of the best ways to understand a forest is to listen, and that’s what we are doing in the Congo.

Bird communities differ among forests of varying degrees of health—and each bird species has its own unique call.

Therefore, we deployed cameras and acoustic recorders to compare biodiversity in a protected area, a community forest and a logging concession committed to sustainable practices. The recordings captured thousands of hours of bird calls and forest sounds, providing first-hand accounts of forest condition.

The findings show that sustainably logged forests can be similar to protected areas in terms of biodiversity, supporting the case that economic and sustainability goals can be compatible.

Read the full story in our Africa 2025 Year In Review. https://nature.ly/3Qj5dpo

📸 © Kirkamon Cabello/TNC Photo Contest 2022

13/04/2026

Of Africa’s seven Great Lakes, only Lake Tanganyika remains nearly pristine. But pressure is growing.

In Manda Kerenge village, community members are taking bold, self-directed steps to secure their future. Fisheries scouts have received extensive training, and Beach Management Unit members are calling for jurisdiction in deeper waters to stop illegal nets that harm the fishery and livelihoods.

The Nature Conservancy and Sustain Lake Tanganyika are supporting this vision through inclusive community-led conservation. Together, we are building confidence and ownership that can spread across the Kipili Archipelago and beyond.

Read the full story in our Africa 2025 Year In Review. https://nature.ly/3Qj5dpo

📸: © Roshni Lodhia

Take a look at the biggest milestones from the Africa Region in 2025.

10/04/2026

West Lunga National Park, at the northeastern tip of the greater KAZA landscape, was once home to thousands of elephants. Decades of neglect and poaching reduced the population to just 10 by 2021.

In a remarkable turnaround, more than 150 elephants have been recorded in the park over the past two years. It is believed that about 120 made the 150-kilometer trek from Kafue National Park, where elephants are under growing pressure from drought and fire.

The Nature Conservancy has convened nine partners in the Kafue–West Lunga corridor to support community rangers, provide farmers with tools to protect crops, and deliver benefits to families living near wildlife areas. Together we are connecting the dots between the needs of wildlife and people.

Read the full story in our Africa 2025 Year In Review: https://nature.ly/4squziu

📸: An elephant family in Botswana. © Henrick Karlsson

Take a look at the biggest milestones from the Africa Region in 2025.

09/04/2026

📌📖🌍 Our Africa 2025 Year In Review Report is out!

The report captures a year of milestones across the continent. From elephants reclaiming lost ground in Zambia’s West Lunga National Park, to communities leading conservation on Lake Tanganyika, each story shows how nature and people thrive when we work together.

Discover the progress made possible through science, collaboration and long-term commitment. Download the Africa 2025 Year in Review. https://nature.ly/4vle9ur

Take a look at the biggest milestones from the Africa Region in 2025.