(JUBA) – South Sudan has recorded new progress in wildlife conservation and environmental planning following a series of field and policy initiatives linked to the Great Nile Migration landscape.
In Badingilo National Park, conservation teams working with African Parks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust have completed a new stage of vulture monitoring work. The operation involved tagging fifteen vultures across three species, including Ruppell’s vultures, white headed vultures and white backed vultures. This brings the number of active tracking devices across the wider Great Nile Migration landscape to twenty seven birds.
The work is part of a wider research programme aimed at improving understanding of how vultures move across national borders and how they use habitats in South Sudan and surrounding countries. The data is expected to support conservation planning, improve habitat protection, and strengthen efforts to prevent illegal killing of wildlife.
According to conservation teams, previous tracking work in Boma National Park has already shown that South Sudan hosts important breeding populations of vultures. Birds tagged in earlier phases have been observed moving across a wide regional range, including Kenya, Ethiopia and Chad. Conservation partners report that no major threats have been identified so far for breeding populations in these areas, reinforcing South Sudan’s importance in regional wildlife protection.
The latest field operations were led by raptor specialists working alongside conservation managers from partner organisations. Support from donors and local partners in South Sudan was also highlighted as a key factor in completing the work.
In a parallel development, the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism, working with African Parks and international partners, has held technical workshops in Juba and Pibor aimed at improving how environmental data is used in national development planning.
The workshops brought together around fifty representatives from government institutions and development agencies in each location. Discussions focused on how ecological data and information on landscape connectivity can be included in decisions about infrastructure, mining, and other major development projects.
Officials and partners said the aim is to ensure that economic development is planned alongside the long term sustainability of ecosystems that support both wildlife and local communities. The Great Nile Migration landscape was highlighted as a key area where coordinated planning is needed to balance growth and environmental protection.
Support from the European Union in South Sudan and other partners was acknowledged during the sessions, with organisers noting that collaboration between government and conservation groups is becoming more structured.