Meet Sango

When Sango was acquired in 1992, it was a land worn thin by more than a century of intensive cattle ranching. Its soils were exhausted, native vegetation depleted, and much of its wildlife pushed to the brink. Yet its new owner, Wilfried Pabst, held a clear and ambitious vision: to restore this degraded landscape and allow a self-sustaining ecosystem to emerge once again.

Over the following decades, that vision was patiently pursued through science-led rewilding and long-term commitment. Cattle infrastructure was dismantled, human pressures reduced, and nature was given the space and time to recover. Working alongside leading ecologists and in close partnership with neighbouring communities, Sango evolved into a living laboratory, where restoration was guided by research, experience, and respect for natural processes. The reintroduction of lions and white rhinos in 2005 and 2006 marked a turning point, signaling the return of ecological balance.

Today, nearly 60,000 hectares of savanna, woodland, wetlands, and riverine ecosystems have been restored. It extends along 24 kilometres of the Savé River and its wetlands, part of a 640-kilometre river system that supports agriculture far beyond Sango’s boundaries before flowing into the Indian Ocean. This river is a critical resource for irrigation, sustaining crops such as citrus, cotton, and sugar cane across the region.