Lubombo

ABOUT LUBOMBO

Where a meeting of land and sea offers different views at every angle

From coral reefs and turtle nesting sites, to coastal plains and over woodlands to the Lubombo Mountain Range, this area is one of the most striking areas of biodiversity globally.

CONSERVATION AREA

The Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation and Resource Area includes four distinct transfrontier conservation areas between Mozambique, South Africa and The Kingdom of eSwatini, covering a total area of 10 029 km².

It lies in the Maputaland Centre of Endemism that includes five Ramsar sites: Ndumo Game Reserve, the Kosi Bay System, Lake Sibaya, the Turtle Beaches and Coral Reefs of Tongaland and Lake St. Lucia (Africa’s largest estuary).

The TFCA boasts the first marine TFCA in Africa, the Ponta do Ouro-Kosi Bay TFCA, that connects Mozambique’s Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve turtle monitoring programme with South Africa’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a World Heritage Site.

Transfrontier Conservation Area

Transfrontier Conservation Area

National Park

National Park

Protected Area

Protected Area

Country Border

Country Border

CONSERVATION AREA FULLSCREEN

OUR WORK

COMMITMENT


The Memorandum of Understanding to formalise the establishment of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation and Resource Area was signed by the Mozambique, South Africa and eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) Governments in 2000.

Peace Parks has been involved in supporting the TFCA since 2002, with our work concentrated on Maputo National Park in Mozambique.

In 2018, we signed a partnership agreement with Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) to jointly develop the aforementioned reserves according to a strategic business plan, with Peace Parks providing technical and financial support for conservation and tourism development activities. The partnership has unlocked significant investment from Peace Parks and its generous donors setting the scene for significant growth in the near future.

THE JOURNEY THUS FAR

22 June 2000

South Africa, Mozambique and The Kingdom of eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) sign five protocols towards Lubombo’s establishment.

2000

The World Bank donates $6 million to develop the Mozambican component of the Usuthu-Tembe-Futi TFCA. Development includes infrastructure and accommodation upgrades, and the construction of headquarters and accommodation facilities.

2006

Mozambique and Peace Parks Foundation sign a co-­financing agreement for the development of Maputo Special Reserve and appoint a joint project implementation unit.

2009

Mozambique declares the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve, formalising a 20-year turtle-monitoring programme that links up with the one in iSimangaliso Wetland Park, where turtles have been protected and monitored since 1963.

2010

Peace Parks kicks-off a multi-year project that translocates wildlife from South Africa to Mozambique. The project is still ongoing and to date more than 4500 animals have been rewilded.

14 June 2011

The Futi Corridor is proclaimed a protected area to link Mozambique’s Maputo Special Reserve with South Africa’s Tembe Elephant Park.

2011

The Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve headquarters are officially opened.

2013

The Community Development Facility, a joint initiative between the government of Mozambique, COmON Foundation and Peace Parks Foundation, is established to bring about the sustainable economic development of communities living in and around Maputo Special Reserve.

2014

A joint operations strategy for Maputo Special Reserve and Tembe Elephant Park was approved by the Lubombo Commission and a park management committee established.

2014

The Maputo Special Reserve headquarters are officially opened.

2015

Peace Parks Foundation in partnership with the Joaquim Chissano Foundation are appointed as the implementing agents for the World Bank’s MozBio, with the mandate to develop projects to enhance the livelihoods of communities living adjacent to Maputo Special Reserve and Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve.

2018

The Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) and Peace Parks sign an agreement to jointly develop Maputo Special Reserve and Ponta Do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve.

In accordance with the agreement between Peace Parks and ANAC with regards to the co-management of Maputo National Park, significant effort has gone into:

Our support to the park include governance, increased capacity, conservation management, anti-poaching, community engagement, tourism development, as well as assistance with marketing and awareness activities.

Maputo National Park

Maputo National Park

This 1 700 square kilometer park combines lakes, wetlands, swamp forests, grasslands and mangrove forests with a pristine coastline in southern Mozambique.

Ponta do Ouro Marine Reserve

Ponta do Ouro Marine Reserve

Nestled adjacent to Maputo Special Reserve, the marine protected area stretches from Ponta do Ouro in the south to the Maputo River Mouth in Maputo Bay in the north.

 

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT


In 2005 the Mozambican government appointed Peace Parks Foundation to provide assistance with a community development strategy that would bring about the sustainable economic development of communities living in and around Maputo National Park through nature-based tourism and conservation enterprises. We currently execute this responsibility through two specific collaborative endeavours – the Community Development Facility and the Mozbio Project.

Lubombo Community Development

Lubombo Community Development

This programme focuses on bringing about sustainable economic development of and benefit-sharing by communities living in and around conservation areas.

 


”World

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park situated on the South African side of the Ponta do Ouro-Kosi Bay TFCA, was proclaimed a World Heritage Site in November 1999. The site is the largest estuarine system in Africa and includes the southernmost extension of coral reefs on the continent. Efforts are ongoing to extend the existing World Heritage Site northwards to encompass the Mozambican section of the TFCA, which includes the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve.


Did you know?

In 2019, a 294 020 hectare site in the Lubombo Mountain Range, which straddles Mozambique and South Africa, was declared a biosphere reserve by the UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme. This Lubombo Biosphere Reserve is part of the Maputoland-Phondoland-Albany Biodiversity Hotspot and consists of forest, wetland and savannah ecosystems. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet, and it must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation remaining. In other words, it is an area of vital biodiversity that is critically threatened. Local flora species in this hotspot include the Lubombo Ironwoods, Lubombo Cycads, the recently-discovered Barleria species and the Jilobi forest. Twenty of the 88 mammals identified in the area are to be found only in the Lubombo region. Notable among these mammals are the white rhino, cape buffalo, roan antelope, tsessebe and the suni, as well as threatened species such as leopard. The biosphere reserve is home to numerous conservation and monitoring projects, as well as commercial enterprises, industry, agriculture, animal husbandry, and forestry.

LUBOMBO NEWS

21 Aug 2024

Innovative multi-party agreement on Tembe Elephant Park strengthens conservation efforts in a transboundary landscape in Africa

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by Tembe Traditional Authority in conjunction with the...

31 Jul 2024

Peace Parks Foundation’s support to rangers, for people and nature

Peace Parks Foundation thanks the rangers protecting communities and nature, using their skills to conserve...

15 Feb 2024

Government of Mozambique and Peace Parks Celebrate Inauguration of Award-Winning Membene Lodge in Maputo National Park

The Government of Mozambique and Peace Parks celebrates the official inauguration of Membene Lodge, Maputo...

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