By Scopas Bethuel
The Tore community in Yei River County has issued a formal petition to the State Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries, and Tourism, raising strong objections to ongoing wildlife conservation activities in Lantoto National Park, which they say are being conducted without their knowledge or involvement.
In a letter dated June 3, 2025, the community expressed dismay over what they termed a “selective consultation process” regarding the conservation work in the park, which is predominantly situated on their ancestral land in Central Equatoria State.
“We are not against any form of development,” the letter reads. “But our exclusion from discussions regarding activities in Lantoto National Park threatens our peace, unity, and land ownership rights.”
The community pointed out that the park, which borders Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a rich area historically designated as a game reserve after the 1972 Addis Ababa agreement.
Despite being confirmed by the Sudan Government under the Wildlife Act 1986, as well as in the Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act in 2003, the area remained undemarcated. The community attributes the non-demarcation to a lack of local consultation, among other reasons
According to the petition, the current conservation activities are being coordinated with the National Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism and stakeholders from Western Equatoria State instead of Central Equatoria state, while the Central Equatoria’s Tore community is largely disengaged. The community argues that this lack of involvement undermines the principles of decentralization outlined in South Sudan’s transitional constitution.
The Tore community is calling on the state government to suspend all conservation activities in Lantoto National Park until an inclusive community consultation is held, Halt ongoing construction by the Enjojo Foundation in the Duku’du Olo area, and legal documentation authorizing Enjojo Foundation’s operation in Tore is provided and Delay the planned project launch by the national ministry and Enjojo Foundation until Central Equatoria State is adequately involved and briefed.
The letter, signed by community chairman Ali Hussen Juma, was also copied to local officials, members of parliament representing Tore, and traditional leaders. The community emphasized its faith in the state government’s ability to defend their rights and called for immediate intervention.
Efforts to reach the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism and representatives from the Enjojo Foundation for comment were unsuccessful at the time of publication.