Nature makes a comeback in Mozambique
After decades of civil unrest, the East African country is expanding its protected wildlands.
Guerrilla fighters once roamed the rugged mountains and misty forests along Mozambique’s border with Zimbabwe. Now birdsong fills the air, and adventurers look for elephants, hike to waterfalls, and marvel at ancient rock art in what is one of the country’s newest national parks.
Since its designation in June 2020, Chimanimani National Park has been an example of how conservation projects are working to bolster this East African country’s protected wildlands.
During civil unrest from 1964 to 1992, the Chimanimani region was ravaged by poaching and sown with land mines. In recent years, illegal gold mining and slash-and-burn agriculture have destroyed habitat and degraded soil and water.
