Mozambique boasts three separate biodiversity hotspots, one of Africa’s longest coastlines, and more mangroves than any other country on the continent, aside from Nigeria. Half of the country is forested, but there are also grasslands, wetlands, mountains, plateaus, coral reefs and seagrass meadows, as well as Lake Malawi (home to more fish species than any other lake in the world).

6,000 species of plant are found here, over 330 of which are endemic. The list of fauna includes 726 bird species, 171 reptile species, 85 amphibian species, and many of Africa’s most famous large mammals. The latter in particular were devastated during the Mozambican Civil War of 1977-1992, but in the years since, government efforts to protect biodiversity and the success of projects like Gorongosa National Park promise good things for the people and wildlife of Mozambique.

WLT’s first project in Mozambique will complement the already stellar restoration work that has been done by the Gorongosa Project. Together we will be establishing a new reserve to enhance connectivity for wildlife in the wider Gorongosa landscape, in an area of miombo woodland that has suffered widespread deforestation and degradation. As many as 20 IUCN Red List species stand to benefit from the project, including three Critically Endangered vultures.