PRESS RELEASE
Maputo National Park, 13 August 2025
In southern Mozambique, a powerful story of restoration is unfolding. Communities are stepping up to protect and restore nature, proving that climate action, conservation and community empowerment go hand in hand.
Home to some of the richest biodiversity on Earth, this region gained stronger protection with the merging of two reserves into Maputo National Park – declared a World Heritage Site on 14 July this year.
“Maputo National Park’s mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs are home to endangered turtles, rare species of fish and mammals,” says Miguel Gonçalves, Park Warden for Maputo National Park. “There are also many people living around the park who rely on its ecosystem services.”
Recognising this, the Blue Action Fund backed by the Green Climate Fund awarded a grant to Peace Parks Foundation two and a half years ago to support nature-based solutions in the protected marine areas. The park is managed jointly by Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas and Peace Parks Foundation, which has supported conservation efforts in the region since 2006.
Our implementation partners – the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Germany, ADRA Mozambique, Associação do Meio Ambiente, Livaningo and Centro Terra Viva – have reached the halfway mark of the ecosystem-based adaptation programme which aims to protect the four key coastal areas of mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs and dunes. The team have achieved incredible milestones in managing, restoring and rehabilitating ecosystems to lessen the effects of climate change and provide benefits for both people and the environment.
The programme combines:
- Building resilience to climate change among local communities in 23 villages, benefiting 18,600 people through improving livelihoods and sustainable fisheries.
- Habitat restoration
- Managing protected marine areas
Restoring seagrass meadows of Banco de Sangala in the waters near Portuguese and Inhaca islands,
“These underwater meadows do more than most people realise. They stabilise sediment, prevent erosion, filter pollution and improve water quality. Meadows are a haven for marine life. Fish breed here, turtles feed and coastal communities harvest shellfish and crustaceans,” Gonçalves continues.
This renewed ecosystem holds promise for more than just the environment. A healthier coastline means increased fish stocks and brings new opportunities for people, while attracting tourists.
Reviving mangroves in Machangulo Peninsula
Zito Bande, a local assistant for the Blue Action Fund project, describes the successful restoration of a mangrove forest in Machangulo, a thin peninsula of sand: “We are restoring not just trees, but a whole ecosystem that communities depend on every day.”
The team replanted 171 hectares using four native mangrove species – Rhizophora mangle, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Ceriops tagal and Avicennia marina. Ten residents, including six women, planted mangroves to stabilise the coastline, support marine life, and protect communities from erosion and storms.
Empowering women with business kits
In Machangulo, Livaningo delivers business kits to help vulnerable women build an income and become financially independent. One of them, Salmina Mapanga, received the ingredients and tools she needed to start a small bread-baking business.
“Before this, none of us had a steady income. Now, I can send my child to school and can feed my family. I’m finally part of something that makes me feel proud,” she says.
Field officer Isaura Massango highlights the broader impact of the empowerment programme: “It’s not just about business – it’s about voice. These kits are helping women speak up, participate in community decisions and reduce their dependence on natural resources. As a woman, it’s rewarding to see how the community is growing and how women are progressing.”
A model for coastal resilience
The Blue Action Fund is supporting several projects, including the establishment of community fisheries councils to co-manage fishing resources, thus boosting the recovery of fish stocks and increasing the incomes of fishers and sellers.
In addition, communities are being trained in:
- Aquaculture
- Beekeeping
- Climate-smart agriculture
- Health
- Education
- Research and monitoring.
The implementation team organises ecosystem-based adaptation workshops and marine biodiversity conferences, one of which attracted 6,793 participants in Nacala recently.
More initiatives are underway. To protect the dunes, a boardwalk has been constructed around the Ponta do Ouro point and ranger viewing platforms are in the process of being built at four locations. A series of educational boards have been developed and placed in key areas around the park.
By putting people first while taking a nature-based approach, this initiative is helping communities prepare for and adapt to climate change. By building bridges between conservation and community development, it shows that environmental protection and the well-being of local residents go hand in hand.
EDITOR’S NOTES
Blue Action Fund
Blue Action Fund (BAF) is a non-profit foundation established under German law and was founded in 2016 by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in conjunction with KfW Development Bank. Subsequently, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), and Irish Aid became funding partners and Blue Action Fund is now one of the world’s largest public funders promoting marine conservation and sustainable livelihoods in coastal communities. The foundation promotes the protection of oceans and coasts by funding projects that contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14, as well as to the Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 for global biodiversity conservation. Blue Action Fund aims to enhance the management and use of coastal and marine ecosystems to conserve marine biodiversity for future generations while improving the lives of local people. To pursue this aim, Blue Action Fund works with non-governmental organisations to designate and manage protected areas and support sustainable use of coastal and marine resources. Blue Action Fund provides grants to selected conservation projects in marine protected areas (MPAs) and their buffer zones, targeting the most sensitive coastal waters of Africa, Latin America and Asia/Pacific and focusing on projects with measurable outcomes in two areas including (i) Newly established or better managed MPAs or networks of MPAs that result in conservation of biodiversity and (ii) Enhanced livelihood conditions and food security.
Green Climate Fund
The Green Climate Fund is the world’s largest climate fund, established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2010 to support the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change. In the context of sustainable development, the Fund seeks to promote the paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change, taking into account the needs of those developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. A core principle is to follow a country-driven approach and operates through a network of accredited entities and delivery partners who work directly with developing countries for project design and implementation. The Green Climate Fund finances activities to both enable and support adaptation, mitigation (including REDD+), technology development and transfer, capacity-building and the preparation of national reports. Countries are also supported in the pursuit of project-based and programmatic approaches in accordance with strategies and plans (such as low-emission development strategies, Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions, National Adaptation Programmes of Action, National Adaptation Plans and others).
National Administration for Conservation Areas
Founded in 2011, National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) of Mozambique is an institution of the State responsible for the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable development of ecotourism in Mozambique. Its main functions involve planning, coordination and implementation of activities in conservation areas, in partnership with other organizations and local communities. Conservation Areas managed by ANAC occupy about 25% of Mozambique’s national territory, including seven Parks, seven National Reserves, and 70 sport hunting areas divided into 20 official hunting grounds, nine hunting blocks, and 13 community programmes.
ADRA Germany
ADRA Germany is a non-profit organization which was created in 1986 and formally registered in 1987. It is part of an international network of 113 independent ADRA country offices. ADRA stands for “Adventist Development and Relief Agency” and is a specialist in humanitarian and development aid. Through disaster relief and sustainable help for self-help, we are with the people in need and work for a life without inequality, injustice and poverty and for better climate protection. People are at the center of everything we do. As a Christian aid organization, we help all people, regardless of religion, worldview, ethnic origin or nationality. We express our Christian values of justice, compassion and charity through our work. Humanitarian aid focuses on nutrition, health, water and sanitation, education in emergencies, and humanitarian protection, as well as humanitarian cash assistance and aid for refugees and displaced persons. Development aid focuses on sustainable agriculture, education, climate protection and disaster risk reduction. The aim of our development aid projects is to improve people’s livelihoods while protecting the environment. Through economic incentives and vocational trainings, we create the framework for a careful approach to the environment, support the building of green economy, and through sustainable agricultural practices, we help the people to produce enough food for everyone. All our project activities are integrated into the globally valid 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the international community. The cooperation with the global ADRA network enables us to carry out projects worldwide.
ADRA Mozambique
ADRA Mozambique has been implementing programmes in the sustainable livelihood sector for over 23 years in straight collaboration with the Government of Mozambique through the Agriculture Directorates. It aims to increase smallholder farmers’ production and productivity of selected food and cash crops, as well as access to markets. To achieve this, ADRA Mozambique applies integrated approaches with focus on climate smart agriculture and good agriculture practices using locally available resources, post-harvest management and quality control, market linkages between stallholder farmers and SMEs, and nutrition education. Under the Sustainable Livelihood pillar, ADRA Mozambique has integrated climate change and environmental conservation where our approach is focusing on Ecosystem based Adaptation and Nature Based Solution with the aim to protect key ecosystem and improve Households resilience. In all implemented projects the production yields have seen an average increase of 65% from the baseline of 35-40% to the extent that ADRA was contracted by the Government of Mozambique to strengthen capacity of all public extension workers in Zambezia on conservation farming. Income increased from an average of below $0,41 per day to around $1,20 per day (in each 1$ invested the projects generated $3), which contributed to the farmers’ wellbeing. Between 2017-2022, ADRA Mozambique projects benefited 210,737 beneficiaries with a budget of $8,580,589.00 (US Dollars).
Associação do Meio Ambiente
Associação do Meio Ambiente (ama) was founded in 1990 in the Capital of the most northern Province of Mozambique, Cabo Delgado, by a group of young people with a special interest in the conservation of natural resources. Since then, ama grew and developed into a major local actor in strengthening and sensitising local communities regarding a sustainable management of nature and its resources. Our key strategic areas: Environmental Education and Underwater Research; Natural Resource Governance and Advocacy; Institutional Development Communication, and Monitoring-Evaluation; Sanitation, Health Community and Water; Emergency, Security and Nutrition. The organisation’s specific objectives are:
- Use of adequate and sustainable practices for the exploration of natural resources;
- Proper application and implementation of public policies and laws;
- Strengthened mechanisms of community participation and inclusion;
- Environmental education for reducing environmental and health risks; and
- Organisational and institutional development within ama.
AMA as a local environmental NGO, focused on implementing community-based natural resources management in Cabo Delgado Province, Nampula and Maputo Province. AMA promotes participatory approaches and has substantial experience as a local implementing partner on conservation. AMA has previously worked on marine resource management and livelihoods, including rotating cowrie-harvesting zones and implementation of self-help financial services.
Livaningo – Associação para a Preservação e Defesa do meio Ambiente
LIVANINGO is a Mozambican non-profit organisation which was created in 1998 and formally registered in 2001. It is a pioneer organisation working on social-environmental, natural resources and community welfare matters. The organisation has a long history contributing to the promotion of social justice and community welfare in Mozambique. We have projects in all provinces of Mozambique and according to our strategic plan, Livaningo’s interventions focus on 4 pillars;
- Monitoring and transparency in the natural resources management and extractive industry – the objective is to advocate against community human rights violations, secure equity and transparency in the management and distribution of community resources;
- Promotion of good urban governance – the objective is to secure the participation of citizens in the process of development of municipalities;
- Adaptation of climate change and renewable energy – the objective is to secure the access of clean energy and strengthen institutional and capacity of Livaningo – the objective is to strengthen the organisation in a manner that it may fulfil its goal. The organisation has gender, humanitarian actions and litigation as crosscutting thematic areas.
Centro Terra Viva
Centro Terra Viva is a Mozambican non-governmental organisation created in 2002 to address the glaring gaps in the country’s information, education, and understanding of the application of environmental legislation and the sustainable management and conservation of existing natural resources. In terms of interventions, CTV has always been focused on environmental research and advocacy. CTV operates through an administrative structure led by a general assembly that deliberates and makes decisions at the macro and strategic levels of the association. Namely, its areas of intervention, plans and programme regulations, among others. Linked to this is the fiscal council responsible for monitoring the administrative-financial issues. The daily operations and management of CTV, including its development as an institution is ensured by an Executive Board under the leadership of the President, which also oversees the daily activities which are coordinated by Program Directors and the Director of Administration and Finance. Implementation of the strategic plan is carried out by the relevant thematic programmes composed of their own hierarchical structure and with technical and scientific autonomy. Thus, CTV implements specific projects and activities in the pursuit of fulfilling its objectives.
Peace Parks Foundation
Peace Parks works in partnership with governments in the southern African region to secure large landscapes through the establishment of cross-border or “transfrontier” conservation areas (TFCAs) as well as to restore and sustainably develop core protected areas within these TFCAs. To date, ten TFCAs have been formally recognised throughout southern Africa, spanning over one million square kilometres and ten countries, which makes this arguably one of the largest terrestrial conservation movements in the world. In Mozambique, Peace Parks is the long-term co-management partner in the rehabilitation and management of four protected areas measuring over 27,000 square kilometres. Maputo National Park is co-managed by ANAC and Peace Parks Foundation as an integral component of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation and Resource Area that also includes protected areas in South Africa and the Kingdom of eSwatini. Peace Parks’ support to Maputo National Park, as to all their areas of operation, is holistic, focusing on engendering buy-in at all levels and good governance; Conservation, at a large landscape scale; Community Development, ensuring that the benefit of living with wildlife outweighs the costs for communities in the landscape; and Commercialisation, unlocking sustainable revenue streams.
For more information, contact:
Lindsay Barnes
Peace Parks Foundation Communications Officer
lbarnes@peaceparks.org
+27 (0)21 880 5100
