In Mozambique, partnerships make magical places

The Government of Mozambique understands the value that its wild spaces hold. This government has placed a quarter of the entire country under formal protection, making it one of the most conservation-oriented nations in Africa.

Peace Parks Foundation has been privileged to work in Mozambique for many years. Our partnership with the government has a long history dating back to 2001 with the formal establishment of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area – which incorporates Limpopo, Banhine, and Zinave national parks. In 2002, the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area was established, of which Maputo National Park is an integral part. Working with the Mozambique Government, Peace Parks supports all four of these parks for the benefit of both people and nature.

Working with the Mozambique Government through the National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC), Peace Parks supports all four of these parks for the benefit of both people and nature. Limpopo, Banhine and Zinave national parks all lie within wildlife corridors that are critically important to the health of the entire ecosystem.

In our 2023 Mozambique impact report, we delve into the successes of our partnerships which have reaped great rewards and many highlights. In Limpopo National Park, we launched two large scale impactful community development projects, and a riverine helicopter aerial census showed a physical minimum count of 1 431 elephants.

The relocation of a further five white and five black rhinos to Zinave National Park was successfully concluded. With six white rhino and one black rhino calves having now been born in the park, the herds stand at a heathy founder population. In Banhine National Park, the Herding for Health programme being implemented in six communities is assisting 3 672 cattle belonging to 115 breeders, 20% of whom are women.

Membene Lodge commenced operations in Maputo National Park, with rave reviews online. Five hyena were successfully relocated to the park and a full park aerial census showed a 20% annual increase with approximately 14 000 large mammals populating the park.

 Our support for the Mozambique Government enables healthy, vibrant communities whilst protecting the ecosystems that sustain them for now and for future generations. The total number of people living in and around these four parks touched by community development projects increased to around 104 880 in 2023, Our two most successful programmes are The Hunger Project in Zinave and the Blue Action Fund project in Maputo National Park.

Peace Parks creates job opportunities in the areas we work. The total number of people employed in the parks in Mozambique was 845 in 2023. Peace Parks supports 69% of salaries in these parks. Developing and upskilling of Mozambicans is a primary objective with expatriate expert technical support personnel accounting for only 2% of all conservation area personnel – responsible for both implementation support and on the job capacity development.

Read all about the impact we have had in Mozambique here.