Nicholas School of the Environment will collaborate with conservationists in Africa to assess and expand upon efforts to restore degraded ecosystems through native species reintroduction.

Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and African Parks, a leading conservation nonprofit organization based in Johannesburg, South Africa, have launched a research partnership that will work to better understand the ripple effect of rewilding on biodiversity in connection with African Parks’ historic effort to reintroduce native rhinoceroses to African grasslands.

The partnership is made possible thanks to a $2 million dollar gift from an anonymous donor that will be equally distributed between both organizations. 

“Duke and African Parks share a common goal to better understand how rewilding lands with native species can restore ecosystems and curb biodiversity loss,” said Lori Bennear, Stanback Dean of the Nicholas School. “A Duke alum brought this collaboration together over the past year. I am grateful for his support and for the anonymous donor enabling its launch, as our findings will empower those entrusted to protect African savannas and the species that depend on them.”

African Parks currently manages 24 protected areas in 13 African countries and has decades of experience moving over 8,000 animals to protected ecosystems. The initial gift will allow Duke faculty and students to collaborate with African Parks researchers in collecting and analyzing data on 2,000 southern white rhinoceros, a near-threatened species largely due to ongoing poaching of the animal for its horn. The animals will be rehomed to well-protected areas across the continent where they can fulfill their ecological role, through its Rhino Rewild Project.

Using the Rhino Rewild Project as a key case study, researchers from both Duke and African Parks will deploy predictive technologies to collect data and monitor the rhinoceroses — as well as monitor the ripple effects the rehoming has on carbon storage in the ecosystem, nutrient cycling within African grasslands, biodiversity and more — while also advancing new and more robust approaches to measuring ecosystem restoration and strengthening African science capacity.

Researchers are hoping the project’s outcomes can be used to better understand how animal reintroduction can positively effect an ecosystem for the better, a key aspect that has not received much attention to date among peers.

Ecologists Jason Donaldson and Tong Qiu, both assistant professors in the Division of Environmental Natural Sciences at the Nicholas School, will lead the research in collaboration with experts from African Parks.

“Drs. Donaldson and Qiu are an asset to this partnership. Together they bring rich experience working in African savannas and using remote sensing technology to monitor biodiversity, expertise that will complement the local knowledge and expertise of our scientists and conservationists.The insights generated through this collaboration will help shape restoration strategies across protected areas and demonstrate how scientifically grounded conservation can contribute meaningfully to climate solutions,” said Dr. Angela Gaylard, Head of Biodiversity and Science Support at African Parks. Dr. Gaylard is a conservation scientist with extensive experience, bridging management and science and guiding African Parks’ science initiatives to facilitate adaptive conservation management.

In addition, more than a dozen post-doctoral, doctoral, masters and undergraduate students from Duke will participate in research activities with students from local African schools with the goal of building capacity for generations to come and supporting local students’ postgraduate education. Duke researchers and African Parks will work together to expand training for conservation managers through data collection, analysis and reporting opportunities, as well.

African Parks is a nonprofit conservation organization that takes on responsibility for the long-term management of protected areas in partnership with governments and local communities. African Parks manages 24 protected areas in 13 countries covering over 20 million hectares in Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Visit www.africanparks.org to learn more.