Bazaruto Archipelago

Located in Inhambane Province in central Mozambique and includes the urban centres of Vilanculos and Inhassoro and the Bazaruto National Park. Approximate area covered is 5,034 km squared.

Description

A chain of five islands along the mainland coast and peninsula, including two offshore reefs. The islands and reefs have extensive coral communities and provide a barrier to the shallow “inner sea” area. The area has the largest known population of dugong in the ecoregion, is an important nesting site for Loggerhead, Green, Leatherback and Olive ridley turtles, and also important as a feeding ground for juvenile Green turtles. Four species of migrating whales and five species of dolphin including resident pods of Humpback dolphins use the area. It has diverse coral communities, extensive and diverse seagrass beds and spectacular parabolic sand dunes. Species diversity is high, as is endemism with six endemic gastropod mollusc species; over 300 species of fish including some endemic species and six species of bird exceeding 1% of their global populations.

Contacts

WWF-Mozambique, IIP and UEM.

Conservation Status

Generally the status of the area is high but there are localized incidences of degradation namely erosion around the towns of Inhassoro and Vilanculos caused by natural and human factors that are also implicated in low levels of domestic and tourismassociated pollution. There is also the threat of an increasing semi-industrial fishery. Most of the area is a Marine National Park gazetted under Decree 40040 (1955) with a management plan and collaborative management focus on species and biodiversity conservation. The Park area was more than doubled in 2002, including important marine habitats and areas supporting populations of dugong. The National Directorate of Forestry and Wildlife administers the site with support from WWF.

Summary of threats and information needs

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