Hannes Wyk

Peace Parks Foundation

Peace Parks Foundation facilitates the establishment of transfrontier conservation areas (peace parks) in southern Africa. The non-profit organisation was founded by Dr Nelson Mandela, HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and Dr Anton Rupert in 1997. Together, they shared a dream of cross-border peace parks initiatives linking established conservation areas, fostering economic and tourism development that would benefit local communities, conserving biodiversity and promoting regional peace and stability. Southern Africa's peace parks today incorporate over half of the declared conservation estate in the region. The foundation's approach combines conservation with socio-economic development, to ensure the long-term preservation of protected areas.