: Presidente da República, Filipe Nyusi (direita), no acto da colocação de colares de monitoramento a um leopardo auxiliado por fiscais da Reserva do Niassa
Maputo, 18 Oct (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi declared on Thursday that no elephants have been poached since 2018 in the Niassa Special Reserve, the largest conservation area in the country.
He was speaking at a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the creation of the reserve on 9 October 1954.
Poachers had decimated the elephant population in the reserve, which fell to around 3,000 in 2016. But there has been a remarkable turnaround since then, particularly since 2021 and the signing of a co-management agreement between the government and the US conservation organisation, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
“The investments and the legal reforms we have been undertaking in the conservation areas have brought a new dynamic and important gains for the Reserve”, said Nyusi. Poaching had been reduced through the recruitment of more rangers, who now used boats and aircraft, as well as conventional means of land transport.
Nyusi thanked the defence and security forces for their cooperation with the Niassa rangers.
He added that the increase in the number of partners, and “the healthy coexistence between the various operators, alongside the government and the communities” had also contributed to a healthy environment for the development of the Reserve.
The director in Mozambique of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Helen Pataki, said that American support had played a determinant role in the fight against poaching.
“Support from the US Government’s Aerial Vigilance Programme has allowed monitoring, and also the deployment of patrols”, she said. “This has led to a reduction in the cases of illegal mining and logging in the reserve, as well as cutting to zero the poaching of elephants since 2018”.
Pataki stressed that the preservation of biodiversity is a necessity in a world facing the threats of climate change and environmental degradation.
The Reserve covers eight districts, six of them in Niassa and two in the neighbouring province of Cabo Delgado. The total surface area of the Reserve is 42,000 square kilometres. Its rich fauna includes elephants, lions, leopards, wild dogs, zebras and over 800 species of birds.
Nyusi’s visit to the reserve culminated with the President placing an electronic monitoring collar on a leopard. He has now placed collars on individuals of each of the “Big Five” (elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, lion and leopard).
“The Mozambican state will continue to do its part by investing in a programme of monitoring, through placing collars and satellite tracking of the iconic animals of the Reserve”, he said, “ensuring their continued protection and the integrity of their habitats”.
“This is a re-affirmation of our commitment to the conservation of biodiversity, and of emblematic species in particular”, he added. “This is an activity we promise to follow and to honour, in defence of our entire planet, our collective home”.
(AIM)
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