Boma–Badingilo Migratory Landscape — Africa's Largest Land-Mammal Migration Under New Park Management

The Boma–Badingilo Migratory Landscape spans nearly 12 million hectares of savanna, floodplain, wetland and woodland in South Sudan's Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria states, linking Boma National Park, Badingilo National Park and the community-held corridors between them.

A 2024 aerial survey counted an estimated six million migrating antelope — white-eared kob, tiang, Mongalla gazelle and Bohor reedbuck — moving seasonally between the two parks and into Ethiopia's Gambella and Omo landscapes, alongside African savanna elephants, lions, cheetahs and the Critically Endangered Nubian giraffe. This is documented as the largest land-mammal migration on Earth and was the primary evidence base for the landscape's inscription as South Sudan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site on 29 July 2026.

Since 2022, African Parks has held a long-term, renewable management partnership with the Government of South Sudan, working with Rainforest Trust and local communities to re-establish park boundaries and designate unprotected corridor land as Community Conservancies. UNESCO simultaneously placed the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger, citing unsustainable bushmeat poaching of migratory herds outside the formally protected core, particularly in Jonglei State during the dry season — an acknowledged governance gap the partnership is still working to close.

Read the full analysis: https://www.rainforesttrust.org/our-impact/rainforest-news/south-sudans-boma-badingilo-migratory-landscape-named-countrys-first-unesco-world-heritage-site/