MAPUTO – Mozambique’s Maputo National Park has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, joining a prestigious group of natural sites around the globe.
The announcement came during the 47th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Paris on Saturday. The decision places the park, which lies south of the capital, among protected sites of “outstanding universal value.”
Mozambique’s Secretary of State for Land and Environment, Gustavo Dgedge, described the listing as a historic achievement for the country. “To be recognized by UNESCO is a powerful endorsement of the work being done here,” Dgedge said in a statement issued by the park.
The 1,718-square-kilometre Maputo National Park spans both land and sea. It includes the former Maputo Special Reserve and the Ponta do Ouro Marine Reserve, home to an estimated 5,000 species ranging from coral reef fish to iconic land mammals such as elephants and giraffes.
UNESCO commended the park’s biodiversity, noting the diverse habitats that include lagoons, mangroves, wetlands, dunes, and long stretches of untouched beach. The park forms part of a transboundary conservation effort with South Africa’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park, which already holds World Heritage status.
The ecological history of the area dates back to 1932 when it was designated as a hunting zone. It was later renamed Maputo Special Reserve in 1969, following growing concerns about preserving the region’s flora and fauna.
After Mozambique’s independence, years of civil unrest threatened the area’s ecosystems. Recovery efforts gained traction in 2006 with a partnership between the government and the Peace Parks Foundation, resulting in reintroduction programs and the expansion of the park’s boundaries.
Maputo National Park was formally established in December 2021, integrating terrestrial and marine areas into a single protected entity.
The park’s administrator told Lusa this month that the new status would improve international visibility, branding it as a site of global importance. Discussions with South African authorities are expected to begin soon, with plans to create a joint operational committee that will oversee conservation efforts and ensure ecological continuity across the border.
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