Mozambique

Location

Mozambique, Africa

Description

Mozambique is located on the southeast coast of Africa. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and South Africa to the southwest. The country is divided into two topographical regions by the Zambezi River. To the north of the Zambezi River, the narrow coastline moves inland to hills and low plateaus, and further west to rugged highlands, which include the Niassa highlands, Namuli or Shire highlands, Angonia highlands, Tete highlands and the Makonde plateau, covered with woodlands. To the south of the Zambezi River, the lowlands are broader with the Mashonaland plateau and Lebomo mountains located in the deep south. The Aghulhas Current flows southward along Mozambique’s coast, carrying a high diversity of fish. Along the coast, mangroves, coral reefs and sea grass beds provide food and habitat for marine life, including seabirds and nesting sea turtles. Millions of people living in coastal communities depend on the sea and its resources for survival.

Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in Africa. Ninety percent of the population lives on less than $2 per day, life expectancy is 43 years, and 12.5 percent of the population is HIV/AIDS positive. Marine resources here are threatened by destructive fishing practices that devastate fisheries and destroy fragile ecosystems. Of particular concern is illegal fishing by international boats in coastal waters that are the basis of local fisheries. Coral reefs are also at risk from rising sea temperatures and cyclones that generate storm surges, flooding, and sedimentation.

Click image for larger version.

The Government of Mozambique, at the request of local communities and the urging of WWF, has been working since 2004 to create a 1.7 million hectare Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago off the northern coast of Mozambique (see map). The Primeiras and Segundas seascape is unique because it contains one of the most abundant and diverse hard and soft coral communities in Mozambique; large sea grass beds; intact mangrove forests containing eight species of mangroves; rare coastal forest habitat; deep coldwater upwellings and abundant diversity of marine life. The creation of the Primeiras and Segundas MPA could conserve an important area for shrimp nurseries, coral conservation, marine turtles, up to 30 marine mammal species, and coelacanth, but could also demonstrate on a large scale successful community-based natural resources management. TNC-WWF joint program at Mozambique is working towards the creation of this MPA. As part of the joint efforts, the Africa Program of TNC has partnered with WWF, CARE, and local communities on a project to alleviate poverty and improve the management of natural resources in fishing communities of the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago.

The objective of the Primeiras and Segundas Sustainable Livelihoods Project is to improve food security and diversify the livelihoods of fishing communities, while reducing the burden on the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago’s fragile ecosystem. Key strategies of this project include:

Photo © Rod Salm/TNC

creation of MPAs to protect essential estuary and reef spawning grounds;
reduction of destructive fishing practices;
diversification of livelihoods;
introduction of improved agriculture and fishing practices;
improved resilience of the estuarine-mangrove and reef systems and coastal communities to climate change.

Nearly 400,000 people live in the coastal communities near the proposed MPAs, where they lead subsistence lifestyles and rely on marine resources. The intended outcomes of the Primeiras and Segundas Sustainable Livelihoods Project will be increased fish populations, improved livelihoods and food security, adoption of conservation agricultural practices to improve agricultural yields and reduce the burden on the fishery, and greater community engagement in conservation and sustainable resource use practices.

Resilience is a key concept and management strategy of the Primeiras and Segundas Sustainable Livelihoods Project at Mozambique. TNC’s primary role in the partnership at Mozambique is to bring coral reef resilience science and experience to the design and implementation of MPAs. In 2009, local project staff were trained in coral reef resilience concepts.

Additionally, in 2009 a preliminary assessment of coral reef resilience was conducted. While extensive coral bleaching was observed in some locations, possibly due to storm surge associated with a recent hurricane, coral reefs showed several indicators of healthy and resilient coral reef communities:

High coral cover, diversity and recruitment;
Good water quality and consolidated substratum;
Minimal coral disease; and
While coral reef fish communities showed some effects of fishing pressure, reef fish communities were in relatively good condition, with healthy populations of herbivores (which play a critical role in coral reef resilience).

In 2010, eight marine scientists from the Conservancy, WWF, CARE, and the Unilurio University - Mozambique, plus two members of the local project team, conducted a more detailed assessment of coral reef resilience and the status of key fisheries species of reef fish. Information about key indicators of coral reef resilience (water quality; substratum type; cover, variety and size structure of coral communities; fish species richness; and density and biomass of herbivorous reef fishes) and the status of key fisheries species (density, biomass and size of key species) was gathered during the assessment. This information will be used to design a resilient network of MPAs aimed at achieving biodiversity and fisheries objectives in the face of climate change. This data also creates a baseline for the monitoring effort, which will be used to monitor the status of the coral reefs over time, and to evaluate the success (or otherwise) of establishing the MPA network.

Some herbivores — no large excavating parrotfishes, which play a critical role in coral reef resilience. Photo © Rod Salm/TNC

Preliminary survey findings include the following:

Coral communities throughout most of the area are healthy and resilient, and appear to have recovered well from the 2009 coral bleaching event.
Reef fish biodiversity was relatively high with a total of 270 species recorded, with 81-126 species present at most sites.
Reef fish populations (herbivores and key fisheries species) were low at many sites.
Reefs are influenced by cold water upwelling at some sites, particularly in the north of the Segundas Archipelago. Areas strongly influenced by upwellings tended to have less hard coral and more soft coral present.

Immediately following the assessment, a Reef Resilience Design workshop was held in the nearby fishing town of Angoche, Mozambique, to summarize and discuss the findings with local stakeholders including 45 representatives from local communities, district and national governments, commercial fishers, the mining industry, WWF, CARE, and TNC. Results of the assessment were also discussed with the National Ministry of Fisheries in Maputo.

The following strategies are planned for the region:

Reserve declaration to secure the ecological integrity of the area.
Use the survey results as the basis for assisting stakeholders design a resilient network of MPAs for the area. This will include identifying high priority areas for protection that are likely to be most important for enhancing reef resilience to climate change.
Develop a fully integrated resilience plan that includes coastal and estuary environments and methods for measuring the social and economic, as well as ecological, health of the system.
Support design and implementation of a long term monitoring plan, including the provision of essential training to scientists and community monitors.
Support community enforcement and monitoring of marine protected areas.
Evaluate monitoring data annually to inform adaptive management.
Build capacity of local scientists regarding coral reef assessment methods, and resilient MPA network design.

Lessons Learned

Both surveys in 2009 and 2010 informed the TNC science team that many of the coral communities indicate resistant and resilient characteristics. Since the major bleaching event, new coral colonization was evident at many sites.
Coral reef fish populations are low, and require increased protection.
Ecosystem Based Adaptation and resilience science is new in Mozambique and clearly there is a significant ability to replicate this approach along the coast. Additionally it is clear that reef resilience must be evaluated in the context of the larger system. There is a need to focus on terrestrial land use, mangrove protection and estuary health in order to restore the fishery and reduce pressures on these reef communities. Only by managing the bigger system will these reefs have a chance to adapt to increased stresses from climate change.

Contact

Matthew A. Brown
Conservation Director
The Nature Conservancy Africa Region
Email: mbrown@tnc.org

Leading Partners

Funding Sources

Marisla Foundation — Private donations, unrestricted Africa funds
WWF
CARE — A BioFund for Mozambique, created with 10M from the French to protect high priority biological resources

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