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Our Partners are carefully selected due to their high conservation impact
Association Djibouti Nature (ADN)
Djibouti, Africa
1999
Association Djibouti Nature (ADN) is one of Djibouti's oldest and most experienced civil society organizations working in biodiversity conservation. The organization is an apolitical, membership-based grassroots nonprofit dedicated to safeguarding the country's natural heritage while supporting sustainable local development in some of the most remote communities in the Horn of Africa.
Though modest in size, ADN has built a strong reputation—both nationally and internationally—as a trusted partner in biodiversity conservation, environmental education, and community empowerment. The organization combines scientific research on Djibouti's species and habitats with direct support for vulnerable rural communities living far from Djibouti City. Its credibility rests on transparency, rigorous independent audits, and a proven ability to bridge science, policy, and grassroots action.
ADN's mission is to contribute to national conservation efforts by combining scientific research, advocacy, and community engagement. Its vision is a Djibouti where people and nature coexist—with restored and protected sites, thriving species populations, and sustainable livelihoods for local communities.
Djibouti's biodiversity is under unprecedented strain. Climate change, erratic rainfall, and rising temperatures are accelerating desertification, while warming seas threaten the country's coral reefs and mangroves. Expanding urbanization, overgrazing, and unsustainable farming erode fragile habitats, leaving iconic species increasingly at risk. The endemic Djibouti francolin (Critically Endangered), Egyptian vulture (Endangered), Bankoualé palm (Vulnerable), Beira antelope (Vulnerable), and the Hawksbill turtle are emblematic of a wider crisis affecting countless species across Djibouti's terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Poaching, human–wildlife conflict, and competition between livestock and wildlife further compound these threats—while overfishing pressures Djibouti's marine systems and enforcement gaps limit the reach of existing protections.
ADN combines rigorous science with grassroots action. Working with researchers from Duke University and the California Academy of Sciences, ADN led the 2019 rediscovery of the Somali sengi—a mammal long thought lost to science and ultimately redescribed as a new genus (Galegeeska). In 2023, ADN contributed to the first confirmed sighting of cheetahs in Djibouti in more than three decades, and documented the country's first national record of the Lesser kudu.
Alongside these scientific breakthroughs, ADN champions the protection of the Critically Endangered Djibouti francolin and key marine species including whale sharks. The organization works directly with pastoralist communities around Lake Abbé in Dikhil and fishing communities at Arta Plage to develop sustainable livelihoods that reduce pressure on Djibouti's most fragile ecosystems.
As a small organization carrying outsized responsibility for one of Africa's least-studied biodiversity regions, ADN relies on international donors to fund the scientific monitoring, community engagement, and environmental education that have become its trademark. Through Conservation Allies, 100% of every donation flows directly to the program—to the field surveys, the community livelihood work around Lake Abbé and Arta Plage, and the protected area engagement that together determine whether Djibouti's wildlife has a future.
