Defend (formerly National Park Rescue)

Defend, formerly National Park Rescue, is a frontline conservation organisation that partners with governments to rescue Africa's most threatened national parks.

Wildlife is disappearing at a frightening pace. Global populations have fallen sharply in recent decades, with especially severe declines across Africa, where poaching and the multi-billion-pound illegal wildlife trade have hollowed out elephant, lion and other populations while habitats shrink year on year. Defend was created for the parks closest to collapse, where the situation is too urgent for reports and conferences alone.

Rather than working from a distance, Defend embeds in the landscape. It partners with national authorities to bring a professional, military-strength model of protection to vulnerable parks, deploying ranger teams, restoring basic infrastructure and supporting the communities who live alongside wildlife. Its staff and local wildlife officers operate as a single unit under one command, which removes friction and sharpens response.