Yei’s Lantoto Game Park Records Decline in Wildlife Poaching

(TORE PAYAM, YEI RIVER COUNTY) – The Director of Lantoto National Game Park in Yei River County says there has been a significant reduction in commercial wildlife poaching over the past year.

The in charge of Lantoto National Game Park, Brigadier General Joseph Taban Zacharia, told Access Radio Thursday Morning that the improvement is the result of joint community awareness efforts conducted by park rangers, community leaders, and development partners operating in the area.

He said communities living around the park are increasingly understanding the importance of conserving wildlife as partners and park management continue to provide alternative sources of livelihood and improve basic social services.

“For the last one year and three months, there have been ongoing construction projects and community awareness programs in Yei, Mundri, Maridi, and Ibba. Because of this awareness, community members have started understanding the importance of the park. At Lantoto, we have teams working on community awareness, conservation, park protection, and law enforcement. We are also planning to train 40 game rangers to strengthen protection of the park.”

Taban said the park management, together with its partners, is working to train more game rangers and deploy digital monitoring equipment to improve protection of the park.

He urged community members in Yei, Maridi, Mundri, and Ibba counties to cooperate with authorities in protecting the park, noting that it has the potential to generate revenue, attract investment, and bring development opportunities to the country.

“The organization and the government will train 120 game rangers to protect the park. Some of them will work in control rooms because we are planning to install sophisticated equipment, including CCTV cameras similar to those used in Congo, to help protect the park. From what I have seen on the ground, community awareness is increasing. We are also drilling water boreholes and recruiting community scouts. What I want from the community is not to be misled because this park is for their benefit, and they should follow the park laws.”

Taban added that efforts are also underway to establish more park stations along Lantoto National Game Park to further strengthen wildlife conservation and protection.

Lantoto National Park (also called Lantoto Game Park) is located in Tore Payam of Yei River County in  Central Equatoria State,Southwestern South Sudan, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The park covers about 760 square kilometers and is made up of woodland, forests, and open grasslands that support a variety of wildlife.

The park is an important wildlife habitat in South Sudan and historically hosted animals such as elephants, buffalo, giraffes, lions, leopards, and several antelope species.