Bringing Djibouti's Beira Antelope and Gerenuk Back From the Brink

Founded in 2001 by a French veterinarian, DECAN runs a wildlife refuge outside Djibouti City that treats animals injured or orphaned by poaching and releases them back into the wild when possible, alongside school-based conservation education programs. The NGO manages two protected areas created with Djibouti's environment ministry: the roughly 4,000-hectare Djalelo valley reserve, designated in 2011 to protect the endangered gerenuk (giraffe-gazelle), and the Assamo reserve, refuge of the beira antelope, rediscovered in the area in 1993 after being feared extinct. Around 15 Djiboutian staff run the refuge, reserves and eco-camps that fund the organization's conservation work.