The Primeiras and Segundas, have been approved as a marine protected area in Mozambique making this diverse ten-island archipelago Africa’s largest coastal marine reserve.
Comprising ten islands off the coast of northern Mozambique, the protected area will cover more than 1.040.926 hectares and contains abundant coral and turtle species. WWF has worked for eight years to secure this marine reserve, threatened by overfishing and unauthorised tourism.
“This is a great response to the appeal by local communities to help them protect their resources,” said Florêncio Marerua, WWF Mozambique´s Country Director.
“This is a very important step in our effort to achieve the conservation and sustainable management of Mozambique’s marine and coastal resources, as this adds a globally significant area to the network of marine protected areas along the country’s coast. It is particularly exciting that both the government authorities and local communities recognise the benefits of conserving these resources.”.
Greater Sand Plover, Mozambique © Rudi Debruyne, from the surfbirds galleries.
Located in the northern region of the country, between Nampula and Zambezia Provinces, the declaration of the Primeiras and Segundas environment protection area is the second major conservation area to be declared within the last two years.
The Archipelago includes the most robust and diverse coral community in Mozambique. It is rich in mangroves, marine life, deep underwater canyons and large seagrass beds. Due to cold nutrient-rich upwellings, the Archipelago is spared coral bleaching, a common problem in other coral-rich areas, making these some of the most globally productive and important reefs on the planet.
“This declaration by the Government shows they understand and care about the need for conservation of marine resources to support sustainable use by their communities, “said John Tanzer, Director of WWF’s Global Marine Program.
“Protecting the rich natural resources of this magnificent area will make a major contribution to the long term food security and livelihoods of the people of the region. It is also a significant contribution by Mozambique to safeguarding the future of the world’s marine environment more generally and deserves recognition and congratulations to all concerned who worked together to make it possible.”
The area is also of great economical importance. Artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial fishermen have been carrying out their fishery activities in the same area. Thus, all fishing activity within the archipelago area shows signs of over-exploitation, with some species on the brink of collapse.
The tourism potential of Mozambique speaks for itself, with 2700 km of tropical coastline, abundant nature and a rich cultural heritage. Tourism contributed 1.2 per cent to the national GDP of Mozambique IN 2002 (Ministry of Planning and Finance); this is very low, compared to a contribution of 8 percent in South Africa and an average contribution to GDP of 6.9 percent to GDP in sub-Saharan Africa. As a prospective investment sector, tourism is doing well however.
At the end of the planning phase for the COAST project (mid 2006) each partner country had produced (with consultant support) a narrative project document describing in general terms the proposed demonstration project(s). There was no logical framework, no work plan, and only a total budget figure (see below) to guide stakeholders in beginning to implement the project. From January 2009 through to June 2009, based upon a one week visit by the Technical Coordinator to each partner country (during the Inception period of the COAST project) a revised narrative, new logical framework, first year work plan and indicative GEF support budget were developed and discussed. Subsequent to each country visit further support has been provided through email discussions. The demonstration project document now provides a more concise definition of the activities and outputs which are expected to be undertaken at the two sub sites in the Mozambique demonstration project. This short note highlights what are foreseen to be the main challenges in now starting to implement the work. This paper has been written as a subsidiary contribution to the general overview provided in the Inception Report.