History
The AWDF was found in 2012.
After founder Jean DB travelled through Africa and visited orphanages, private game ranches, conservancies and national parks in countries such D.R. Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and South Sudan. He was disappointed because in his mind the outside world was not doing enough to help the parks in central Africa. After he had conducted ground surveys on the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, and being contracted on a private ranch in South Africa, he decided to train a team of Congolese rangers. Two years later, he saw the need for a more specialized task force. And so, as of April 2014, the AWDF began with the selection of candidate rangers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Kenya and South Africa for training of Advanced Force (AFR) and Special Force (SFR) rangers. Founder Jean DB approached a former French Legionnaire with the aim to give them a Special Force styled training with wildlife management courses. This project is still in its initial phase.
Organization
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The AWDF is a non-profit African private ranger organization, 80% of the organization's revenue is spent on its programs, while 20% of revenue is spent on administration and fundraising. It is supported by private and corporate donations, internet advertising and grants. The group is operated by both paid rangers and volunteers. The organization is committed to staying small, by operating with a few Special Operations Task Forces only. The AWDF is governed by a board of directors, including Jean DB. The board has several advisers, each addressing an area of expertise. The board consist of an Environmental Scientist, an Anthropologist, a Law Enforcement Advisor, a Financial and Management Advisor.
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Mission statement
As a private ranger services contractor the AWDF focuses on wildlife conservation and rainforest conservation. The AWDF has the expertise to also intervene in mangroves, lakes and waterways but does not work at sea. Our major working field is central Africa in the parks located in the border region of Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Uganda and Central African Republic. This because of the different rebel groups that infest the parks in this region. The AWDF want to increase its presence in Africa by sending rangers to locations in Chad, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa. In the establishment of the AWDF was recorded that the parks in central, eastern and southern Africa are prioritized for intervention. The AWDF does not send rangers to north Africa. And in west Africa they only send rangers to Mali and Nigeria. The AWDF does NOT accept unsolicited proposals and intervenes only at the request of a local government. The AWDF is aware of its social responsibility. Wildlife protection is both economic and ecological important in Africa. We are a none religious, none political related organization and we fight only for wildlife. We are an elite park ranger organization and NOT a refuge for former rebels, child-soldiers and criminals. The AWDF is the first park ranger organization in Africa which signed “The International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers (ICoC)”.