Can communities living side by side with wildlife beat Africa’s national parks at conservation?

Colonial powers imposed ‘fortress conservation’ on Africa in the 20th century, forcing Indigenous people, in particular pastoralists such as the Maasai, off their land to make space for wildlife Photograph: Nicolo Lanfranchi

Africa’s first national park was created 100 years ago by the Belgian colonial state in the Congo, and since then hundreds more have been developed – but in many areas there is more wildlife in protected areas run by local people.

Tens of millions of hectares across the continent are home to community-run “conservancies”, managed by herders, farmers and hunter-gatherers, who coexist with herds of large animals such as elephants, giraffes and buffalo.