Mozambique Protects Vast Marine Nature Reserve

MAPUTO, Mozambique, December 17, 2001 (ENS) - Translucent waters, unique coral reefs and rare marine species off the East African nation of Mozambique now have a new level of protection. The entire Bazaruto Archipelago was declared a national marine nature reserve by the government of Mozambique on Friday.

Mozambique President Joaquim Alberto Chissano visited a lodge within the reserve on Friday to mark its new status among the largest marine national parks in East Africa.

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President Joaquim Alberto Chissano of Mozambique (Photo courtesy Office of the President)
The archipelago, which lies about 30 kilometers (20 miles) off the coast between the towns of Vilanculo and Inhassoro, takes in four main islands - Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, and Santa Carolina. The islands themselves were declared a national park in 1971. This new designation covers an additional 1,400 square kilometers (540 square miles) of ocean surrounding the islands.

Considered one of the Big Five dive sites in southern Africa, the newly protected reefs and beaches of the Bazaruto Archipelago support dolphins, dugongs, also known as manatees, sawfishes, lobster and several species of marine turtle. Humpback whales can be seen during the summer months.

Community orientated conservation projects on Bazaruto are funded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the South Africa Nature Foundation and the Endangered Wildlife Trust. They support park management and work with local lodges and conservation groups to crack down on illegal shark fishing and shark finning. Sport fishing tag and release programs have also been established.

Overnight visitors to the archipelago are permitted only for the people staying at one of the lodges. Local people are paid fees for conservation work and reporting sightings of turtle nests. The new designation of the entire archipelago may further benefit local communities in terms of schools and health centers financed from park fees paid by tourists.

Ghislaine Llewellyn, a marine conservation biologist with WWF, said, "Mozambique has extremely rich and diverse marine wildlife and habitats. The Bazaruto islands are a narrow chain dominated by ridges of large sand dunes, wide tidal mud flats and inland, salty, lakes. They support a wide variety of migratory seabirds, but their real riches are marine with coral reefs, incredibly diverse fisheries and the largest and possibly only viable dugong population left on the East African coast."

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Beach on Benguerra Island (Photo courtesy Benguela Lodge)
"We applaud the decision of the Mozambique government to declare the entire archipelago a national park. This is a major step forward for marine conservation efforts along the Eastern African coast and should be a big boost for nature based tourism in the country," she said.

The new protection announced for the archipelago comes shortly after governments and coral scientists wound up the biannual meeting of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) in Maputo, Mozambique on November 30.

ICRI's call to action to save the world's fragile coral reefs has been endorsed by 80 governments. At the Maputo meeting, delegates called for coral reefs to be put at the center of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, next August and September.

The summit is a United Nations sponsored forum where governments, industry and non-governmental organizations will meet to review progress 10 years after the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, and chart a new course for the new millennium.

Poverty reduction will be one of the central themes of the summit, and coral experts believe that improving the health and protection of reefs can play an important role in meeting this goal. Coral reefs and their related ecosystems such as mangrove swamps and sea grass beds provide food security for vulnerable species living in tropical coastal, areas.

While coral reefs cover only one percent of the planet, they are vital nurseries for fish and are believed to harbor promising new medicines. Attractive to divers, wildlife enthusiasts, and yachtsmen, reefs are a key part of the global, multi-billion dollar eco-tourist industry.

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Scuba divers in the warm waters of Bazaruto island. (Photo courtesy Afroventures)
The ICRI resolution to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, approved by delegates from Australia, France, India, Japan, the Maldives, Mexico, Sri Lanka, the United States and the United Kingdom, warns that coral reefs are being affected by a wide range of human threats including bleaching, over-fishing and pollution.

The delegates call on nations to protect coral reefs from pollution, damaging activites such as dynamite and cyanide fishing and, by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases linked to climate change.

The United Nations Environment Programme and the IUCN-World Conservation Union warn that coral reefs are less abundant than had previously been supposed. They estimate that 60 percent of coral reefs could disappear by 2030 without urgent action.

Robert Hepworth, deputy director of UNEP's Division of Environmental Conventions which is spearheading efforts to protect coral reefs worldwide, said, "2002 has been designated the International Year of Eco-Tourism by the United Nations. The subject of eco-tourism can arouse strong passions on both sides of the debate. We hope the newly formed Bazaruto Archipelago National Park can become a beacon of the kind of tourism that benefits not only the regional and national economy but also the local people, ecosystems, animals and plants upon which the tourism depends in the first place."