creating Room to Roam at the 2022 Africa Protected Areas Congress

July 2022 marks the inaugural IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) in Kigali, Rwanda. IFAW is a key sponsor alongside the Government of Rwanda, the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN-WCPA), and many other partners and sponsors. 

It's the first-ever continent-wide gathering of African leaders, citizens and interest groups to discuss the role of protected and conserved areas in protecting nature, safeguarding Africa’s iconic wildlife, delivering vital life-supporting ecosystem services and promoting sustainable development while conserving Africa’s rich cultural heritage. 

We’re in the room to share, inspire and convene with the current and future generation of conservation leaders. 

IFAW’s Room to Roam initiative is a new and visionary approach to conservation in Africa, with elephants and people leading the way. Backed by 20 years of science, fieldwork and engagement with local communities, Room to Roam will ensure persistence of viable and stable elephant populations long into the future. By securing and connecting habitats, and by bringing people together, we will create safe passages for elephants and other wildlife to move freely within their home ranges of East and Southern Africa. 

The result is greater biodiversity, a natural resilience to climate change, and a future where animals and communities can not only coexist but thrive. 

But we can’t do it alone. The future of Africa’s elephants relies on all of us, and at APAC this week, IFAW seeks to inspire many others—at a policy level, a country level, a personal level—to join us. 

Please find relevant resources at the links below. 

• Room to Roam factsheet
• Team Lioness women rangers 
• Protecting Wildlife in the Greater Virunga Landscape 
• Elephants in Hwange National Park 
• Protecting elephants in the Malawi-Zambia landscape 
• Protecting Panda Masuie in Zimbabwe 
• Countering wildlife trafficking in Kenya 
• Elephants in the Amboseli-Kenya-Kilimanjaro landscape 
• Thriving Together: the critical role of animals in achieving the SDGs