TITLE:
Protected Areas—A Challenge for Quirimbas Archipelago (Mozambique)
AUTHORS:
Hermínio António, Jessica Afonso Ferreira, Rita Anastácio, Mário Jorge Pereira
KEYWORDS:
MPA/LPA—Marine and Land Protected Areas, Biodiversity Conservation, Sustainable Development, Ecosystem Services, East Africa, Mozambique
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Resources,
Vol.15 No.12,
December
27,
2024
ABSTRACT: Population growth, food security, conservation of wildlife, and ecosystem services are topics of huge concern in underdeveloped areas where people rely on what land and sea can provide to support their survival needs. In the North of Mozambique, the reality is not different from other parts of Africa. Despite the natural patrimony of extraordinary landscapes and wildlife and the diversity of cultural heritage, human populations are impoverished, and natural resources are overexploited. Here, the authors present a conceptual proposal for a chain of land and marine protected areas that encompasses not only the Rovuma estuary, but all the islands that belong to the Quirimbas archipelago and part of the coastal zone until Pemba Bay. In this study, this is considered a fundamental action for the recovery of damaged areas, maintenance of ecosystem services, sustainable development of the region, and preservation of several potential biodiversity hotspots. For the proposal’s idealization, satellite images were analyzed, and the results of fieldwork and published literature were explored. This chain of areas includes existing protected areas, such as the Quirimbas National Park and the protected area on Vamizi island, and a proposed but currently unestablished area—the Messalo wilderness area. A need for multisectoral involvement in a bottom-up approach is recognized for the management cycle of protected areas in Mozambique.