Mozambique

Location

Southern Africa, bordered by Indian Ocean

National websites

www.mozambique.mz

Embassy / Chancery in U.S.

 1990 M St. NW, Suite 570, Washington D.C. 20036

Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation

 Ministry of Environmental Action Coordination Av. Acordos de Lusaka 2115, Caixa Postal 2020, Tel: 466245, Fax: 465849 - Maputo www.mozambique.mz/governo/ministry.htm

Major Natural Resources

 Mozambique has an abundance of wildlife, forest, and coastal waters. It is home to many fish, shellfish, coral reefs, large mammals, plants and trees. Forestry and fishing make up a large part of the economy. Also, there is an abundance of minerals and natural gas.

www.wri.org/wri/sdis/ctr_std/cs-pdf/mozamb.pdf, www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

Major Environmental and Conservation Issues

Mozambique is suffering from depletion and pollution of its coastal areas because famine and civil war are causing people to migrate towards the coast. Desertification is also a key issue. Pollution of coastal waters seems to be the most pressing issue, however. Otherwise, Mozambique is doing relatively well, with about 10% of its territory under national reserve. Forestry and fishing also seem to be kept at a very sustainable level.

Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique, 1990 M St. NW, Suite 570, Washington D.C. 20036  www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

Statistics

Information Sources

Land area

784,090 Sq. km

 www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

Area of forest

57,000,000ha

 Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique, 1990 M St. NW, Suite 570, Washington D.C. 20036

Area of wetlands

 

 

Area of territorial waters

17,500 Sq. km

 www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

Population

19,614,000

 darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/h90

Population Density

25/Sq. km

 

Area protected (ha) (only areas 1000ha) at all IUCN levels

 7,789,000ha

 http://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/nat.htm

Fraction of land area protected (%)

 10%

 http://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/nat.htm

Major Protected Areas

 Banhine, Bazaruto, Gile, Gorongosa, Ilhas da Inhaca e dos Portugues, Limpopo Valley, Maputo, Marromeu, Niassa, Paradise Island, Pomene, Zambezi,  Zinave 

http://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/nat.htm

Endemic Species

Mammals

 

 

Birds

 

Reptiles

 

Amphibians

 

Fish

 

Invertebrates

 

Plants

 

 

Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species

Mammals

13

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal 

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Plants

Birds

5

Reptiles

0

Amphibians

2

Fish

7

Invertebrates

14

Plants

 

 

Extinct Species

Mammals

0

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal 

www.wcmc.org.uk/species/plants/geographic_table.htm

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Plants

Birds

0

Reptiles

0

Amphibians

0

Fish

0

Invertebrates

0

Plants

0

Species listed on CITES Appendix I

19 species of fauna (search Mozambique, Appendix I)

www.wcmc.org.uk/cgi-bin/ct_ap.p

Species listed on CITES Appendix II

142 species of fauna (search Mozambique, Appendix II)

www.wcmc.org.uk/cgi-bin/ct_ap.p

Legislation

Laws protecting endangered or threatened species

 (Mozambique has been recently plagued by civil war, and environmental legislation has been ignored)  www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

Laws protecting endangered ecosystems

 (Mozambique has been recently plagued by civil war, and environmental legislation has been ignored)  www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

Signatory to CITES

3/25/81 www.wcmc.org.uk/CITES/english/parties1.htm

Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention

No www.iucn.org/themes/ramsar/key_cp_e.htm

Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity 

8/25/95 www.biodiv.org/conv/pdf/ratification-alpha.pdf

Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty

 

Member of International Whaling Commission

No ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/iwcoffice/#Members

Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources

 African Convention of Nature and Natural Resources 1968, Convention on World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) 1982 www.wcmc.org.uk/cgi-bin/pa_un97.p

Environment Working Group, Endangered Wildlife Trust www.iucn.org/places/mozambique_co.html, www.infoweb.co.za/enviro/mozam.htm

Natural Resource Use

 

 

Information Sources

Fisheries

 Fisheries bring in about 26,000 tons of catch annually, and contribute to about 3% of the GNP.

Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique, 1990 M St. NW, Suite 570, Washington D.C. 20036

www.wri.org/wri/sdis/ctr_std/cs-pdf/mozamb.pdf

Forestry

 55,000 cubic meters of wood are taken annually, mostly umbila, jambirre, chafunta, pine and eucalyptus

Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique, 1990 M St. NW, Suite 570, Washington D.C. 20036

Ecotourism

 Ecotourism is a profitable business in Mozambique. There are 4 national parks in addition to the game reserves and hunting sites.

 Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique, 1990 M St. NW, Suite 570, Washington D.C. 20036

Trade in wildlife products

 

 

Hunting

 There are 4 game reserves in Mozambique, and 15 areas for controlled hunting, containing elephants, buffalo, zebra, impalas, hippopotamus, deer and antelope.

Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique, 1990 M St. NW, Suite 570, Washington D.C. 20036

Other uses of natural resources

 Coal, titanium, natural gas, minerals, timber, farming land

www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

www.mozambique.mz/dadosbas/eindex.htm

Human Impacts on Natural Resources

Information Sources

Air pollution

 

 

Water pollution

 Migration of people towards the coast and development of coastal areas are causing pollution.

www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

Development activities

 People are migrating towards the coast, and development of these areas ensues.

 www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

Introduced species

 

 

Legislation addressing these issues

Party to international agreements concerning Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection. Mozambique has

www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/mz.html

Restoration and Reintroduction

Information Sources

Programs for restoration of damaged habitat 

The Maputo Elephant Reserve, an area of 700 sq. km., is set aside to protect elephants.

www.infoweb.co.za/enviro/mozam.htm

Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species

 

 

Return to Endangered Species Protection around the World

Page compiled by Kay Fung as part of a class project in h90 "The Science of Biodiversity and Conservation" (Peter J. Bryant, Instructor), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA