Kgalagadi District 15, Botwana – November 8, 2024: Akashinga, in partnership with Kalahari Research and Conservation (KRC) has teamed up with Modisa Wildlife Project and announces the expansion of its conservation areas to include Kgalagadi District 15 (KD15) in Botswana. This strategic addition brings an additional 1.93 million acres (781,044 hectares) under Akashinga and KRC’s joint stewardship, increasing the total area managed by the organisations to 13 million acres (5.2 million hectares) across Southern Africa.

Botswana’s vast landscapes, coupled with its low population density, have allowed for the establishment of large, protected areas, with 17% of the country designated as national parks and game reserves, and an additional 21% classified as Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). Despite these protections, biodiversity in Botswana remains under threat and continues to decline. Wildlife, adapted to the region’s arid environment and low rainfall, often roams beyond reserve boundaries into areas of human settlement. At the same time, habitats are being lost to unregulated livestock grazing, mining, and fence construction.

KD1 and KD2, located in the WMA between the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP), form a critical wildlife corridor where human-wildlife conflict, including bushmeat poaching, is on the rise. In this context, the partnership between KRC and Akashinga, and Walk Botswana Safaris is vital, as it amplifies the conservation efforts of small local organisations, enabling them to address the challenge of landscape-scale conservation more effectively.

KD15, a crucial part of the Greater Kgalagadi landscape, is a vital habitat for significant populations of herbivores and the entire spectrum of carnivores, including threatened populations of lion, wild dog, and leopard. Akashinga’s expanded efforts in Botswana focus on protecting these species, which are increasingly threatened by poaching and human encroachment. As these challenges grow, safeguarding these critical species is essential to maintaining the ecological balance and biodiversity of the region.

This new area shares similar wildlife habitats with its neighboring concessions, as well as the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP), reinforcing the network of protected landscapes essential for the region's biodiversity. The goal of Akashinga and KRC’s expansion into KD15 is to connect this area with adjacent parks and other key conservation zones, ultimately uniting these individual habitats into a cohesive, well-protected wildlife landscape.

"By expanding our protection to KD15, we are ensuring that more wildlife can thrive in connected, expansive ecosystems,” says Glyn Maude, Founder and CEO of KRC. "The bigger the area we conserve, the more robust and resilient the wildlife population becomes. Without these critical connections, we risk the disappearance of numerous species."

KD15 also marks an important milestone as it welcomes its first concession holder, part of a unique approach to conservation that Akashinga previously implemented in KD1 and KD2, with Walk Botswana Safaris and KRC where the region saw its first-ever photographic tourism deals. This expansion will further support active tourism on the ground, with Valentin Gruener’s Modisa Wildlife Project, operating along the border of KD15.

Tourism, alongside conservation, is a critical driver for preserving Botswana’s wildlife. Akashinga’s holistic approach ensures that not only is wildlife protected, but the surrounding community also benefits from sustainable economic development.

As Akashinga continues to build its network of conservation areas, this growing connection of protected zones will provide more effective sanctuary for wildlife, particularly migratory species, that rely on unbroken corridors to thrive.