We are a group of dedicated people from Germany and Benin, who care a lot about the preservation of the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve and National Park in northern Benin. In this wonderful place, rare species of the West African savanna such as elephants, lions, buffalos, hippos, antelopes, leopards and cheetahs can find one of their last refuges. The extraordinary success of nature conservation in Pendjari area was only possible because of the participation of the 35,000 people living in the immediate neighborhood of the park. They have been involved extensively in decision-making processes, managing tasks and revenues of the park with support of German development cooperation.

The unique Pendjari Reserve existence is currently seriously threatened. Since November 2011, dubious decisions by the Benin authorities destroy systematically the successful cooperation between the state and locals. The consequences are dramatic: Poachers kill off the wildlife undisturbed in order to get meat, ivory and skins. Herdsmen drive their cattle with impunity in the park and increase the risk of contaminating wild animals with dangerous diseases. Help us to stop this destruction and sign our petition.

Update and further information

During the first four weeks, more than 30,000 people have signed the petition. Thank you for this support. Furthermore, we already achieved the following other deals:

- Some members of the Permanent Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development of the German Bundestag sent official requests concerning the Pendjari topic to the German government;

- the German Bank for Development (KfW) threatens the Beninese Government in an official letter with the retraction of subsidies if the accusations published on our website are not disproved credibly;

- our initiative is followed closely by other organization of international cooperation such as World Bank, GIZ and international NGO engaged in nature conservation;

- the Beninese press is reporting intensely on the affair.

The more people sign the petition the more effective we can put pressure on the relevant decision makers in Germany and Benin.

Please help us to stop the destruction and sign the petition which is addressed to Dirk Niebel (German Federal Minister for economic Cooperation and development) and Dr. Boni Yayi (President of the Republic of Benin). On our website www.pendjari.jimdo.com you'll find regularly updated information about the conflict in German and French.