International natural resources experts and the Government of South Sudan came up with a road map for conservation and land use planning of Boma-Jonglei Landscape, the largest savannah ecosystem in East Africa.
The Boma-Jonglei Landscape includes Boma and Badingilo National Parks and the Zeraf Game Reserve, covering some 200 thousand square kilometers of Jonglei, Eastern Equatoria, and Central Equatoria states.The roadmap came as the result of a four-day workshop on the protection of the Landscape.
It aims to ensure effective zoning and management strategies to conserve biodiversity and encourage eco-tourism and other economic development in the region.
The Landscape is home to 17 ethnic groups and millions of wildlife including elephants, giraffes, elands, oryx, lions, wild dog, buffalo, and some endangered antelope species.
The roadmap is an effort to harmonize agriculture development, oil extraction and preservation of biodiversity in an area threatened by commercial wildlife poaching, uncontrolled extractive industry concessions, and unplanned road development.
The programme elaborated by the Government of Southern Sudan, Wildlife Conservation Society and USAID focuses on establishing protected area management, improving community livelihoods, promoting ecotourism, and developing other incentives for sustainable land use.