Saving the Savanna
Inside the fight to restore Africa’s grasslands
Few places on Earth are as evocative or timeless as the vast grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa. Fewer still host as much iconic wildlife.
Yet in recent years, these savannas have suffered under unsustainable practices that threaten their biodiversity — as well as the communities who have thrived here for millennia.
Working with partners and with local people, Conservation International is helping write a new chapter for these vital landscapes — in no small part by reviving ancient practices that helped to sustain the land.
In a new series, “Saving the savanna,” we highlight some of the people and projects key to saving Africa’s endangered savannas.
'Saving Savannas' locations
The boundaries and territory/country names shown on this map do not imply endorsement or acceptance by Conservation International or its partners, and are for reference purposes only.
The series
Can an ancient tradition save an African savanna?
South Africa – Eastern Cape
In South Africa, people raised livestock alongside wildlife, mimicking the rhythms of nature — until apartheid arrived. If the country’s fragile savannas are to survive, communities must look to the past, Conservation International experts say.
In the fight to save a unique desert, tradition meets innovation
South Africa - Namaqualand
Resilience is life in South Africa’s dry shrublands — but for those who have farmed here for centuries, climate change is pushing the limits of that resilience. Can they adapt?
Long silenced, an African park roars back to life
Mozambique – Great Limpopo
Sixteen years of civil war left Mozambique’s parks in ruins. Yet in one park, a decade of conservation has brought the savanna back to life. Now, an ambitious partnership aims to replicate this success on a massive scale — protecting an area the size of Iceland.
COMING SOON: How a crisis in Kenya sparked a new era for conservation
Kenya – Maasai Mara
In 2020, wildlife conservancies owned and managed by Indigenous people almost disappeared overnight. But out of that crisis, emerged a new conservation model — one that could be key to saving Kenya’s most endangered wildlife.
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Read these and other stories from the frontlines of conservation on the African continent.