Rebuilding Wildlife Populations in Mozambique
Restoring Wildlife and Habitat in Banhine National Park
Southern Africa’s vast transnational Limpopo Heartland is perhaps best known for the world-famous The Kruger National Park. Yet not far away, in Mozambique, is an equally fascinating park that is virtually unknown: Banhine National Park.
Wildlife in Need
The 7,000 km² (2,700 mi²) Banhine National Park is home to extensive inland wetlands and is a key source of water in the arid lands surrounding it. The park accounts for 37 percent of the 49 species of fish recorded in the entire Great Transfrontier Conservation Area. Among the fish found in Banhine National Park, three species deserve special conservation status because of their rarity and limited distribution. These are the two small seasonal pan-inhabitants,
Nothobrinchius orthonotus and
Nothobrinchius furzeri (commonly known as killifish), as well as lungfish,
Protopterus annectens.
Yet the park has received little of the attention—or the income—that The Kruger enjoys. As a result, it has virtually no capacity for proper wildlife management. Worst of all, Banhine’s populations of rare and unique wildlife have been in steady decline or have even become extinct. Only a remnant of the park’s once significant endangered wattled crane population remains, and its antelope and other rare ungulates (like Lichtenstein’s hartebeest) have been largely wiped out. But there is hope.
Rebuilding Wildlife Populations
AWF is working with the Mozambique Ministry of Tourism on a variety of conservation initiatives. Conservation of the wildlife and wild lands in Banhine National Park will open new economic opportunities that will benefit the local people.
The park is one of the top conservation priorities under this new partnership. Important projects include aerial surveys and the establishment of a scientific research center. In 2005, AWF completed an aquatic survey in the park designed to inventory aquatic resources.
This aquatic survey, along with the aerial survey AWF completed in October 2004, are important first steps in AWF and the Ministry’s efforts to restore and preserve Mozambique’s wildlife. The country’s wildlife suffered greatly during the country’s civil wars. Both surveys indicate that the area’s wildlife resources hold huge potential for survival. Moreover, its rich birdlife is a major attraction. This is not only good news for the wildlife, but also for Mozambique residents who can benefit from ecotourism.
