The Bazaruto Archipelago National Park (BANP) is comprised of 5 islands and covers 143’000ha of biologically diverse land and seascape off the coast of Mozambique. The Park was created in 1971 and is mandated to protect species of high conservation value, including dugongs, sharks, dolphins, marine turtles, and corals. The BANP supports a population of approximately 5’800 local people, 80% of which rely on marine resource harvesting as their primary livelihood. The principal threats to the Park include illegal fishing (with dugongs and other vulnerable species caught as bycatch), unregulated tourism development, and escalating human population pressures.
Urgent intervention is required to reverse the downward trajectory caused by lack of resources and various socio-political issues, and to elevate the BANP to its rightful position as one of Africa’s greatest marine sanctuaries with a vibrant and sustainable tourism product. In late 2017, African Parks has concluded a long-term mandate to assume management responsibility for the BANP in partnership with the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC). Its intervention will deliver and demonstrate conservation, biodiversity rehabilitation, and sustainable natural resource utilization for the benefit of the economy and the people of Mozambique.
Funding from Fondation Segré will enable African Parks to kick off the operations on the ground, and in so doing, will allow us initiate critical law enforcement capacity building and to mitigate a range of illegal fishing activities.
This project falls into the MoU signed by African Parks and Fondation Segré in early 2018.