| Transfrontier marine park a first |
| Barbara Cole October 21 2009 at 02:26PM | |
Africa's first - and largest - transfrontier marine conservation area has been established, connecting Maputaland in South Africa's World Heritage Site, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, with Mozambique's first marine conservancy, the Ponto de Ouro Marine Protected Area.
iSimangaliso was awarded this status in December, 1999, on the basis of its biodiversity. It is also the largest significant breeding place for leatherback turtles in Africa. If Mozambique's application to Unesco is successful, it, along with iSimangaliso, would form Africa's first Transboundary Marine World Heritage Site, said Andrew Zaloumis, iSimangaliso chief executive and chairman of the Ponta do Ouro/Kosi Bay Transfrontier Conservation Task Team. The Ponta de Ouro Protected Marine Area is considered one of eight key biodiversity sites (seascapes) of global importance within the Eastern African Marine Ecoregion (EAME), according to the submission to Unesco by the Mozambican National Directorate for Culture. In its statement of "Justification of Outstanding Universal Value", the Unesco submission describes the Ponto de Oura Protected Marine Area's coral reefs as among the highest latitude coral reefs in the world, with characteristics that make them unique, says the submission.
Considereda recruitment source of coral larvae for the iSimangaliso coral reefs to the south, fish associated with these reefs are also highly diverse, with about 400 recorded species. The site is an important feeding area for turtle, dugong and migratory birds, such as Whimbrel and flamingos. Loggerhead and leatherback turtles nest along the beaches from October to January between Inhaca Island and Ponta de Ouro. Cites-listed species requiring special protection include the turtles as well as dugong, whales, white and whale sharks, and some bird species. It is also the northern limit of migration for Southern Right whales. It has taken five years for Mozambique to proclaim the protected area, because it initially did not have relevant legislation in place, said Zaloumis. Activities such as commercial fishing, fishing on coral reefs and fishing with explosives are now banned. Driving on the beaches is also prohibited. However, recreational fishing - under strict controls - will be permitted. The Mozambique tourism minister, Fernando Sumbana, said in a statement: "This is a vital step in protecting marine turtles that nest in high densities along the pristine beaches of the Maputo Special Reserve, other rare or endangered species, marine mammals and ecosystems." |
A
Memorandum
of
Understanding
exists
between
the
Natural
History
Museum
of
the
University
Eduardo
Mondlane
&
Cetacea
Charters
Lda
t/a
Dolphin
EnCOuntours
/
Care Africa.
The
purpose
of
the
MOU
is
a
collaborated
effort
in
education
&
research
with
the
intention
of
increasing
the
understanding
of
the
ecology
of
marine
mammals
together
with
the
monitoring
of
tourism
impacts
in
Mozambique. Africa's
pioneer
dolphin
interaction
&
research
center
is
situated
on
the
southern
most
shores
of
Mozambique. Under
the
guidance
of
marine
mammal
experts,
Dolphin
EnCOuntours
established
Africa's
first
dolphin
swim
program
during
the
early
90’s
in
Ponta
do
Ouro.
This
has
resulted
in
‘awareness
&
research’
based
dolphin
tourism
that
delicately
balances
humanities
fascination
with
dolphins
while
fulfilling
the
needs
of
educating,
conserving
and
researching.
Having
initially
started
as
a
pilot
study
in
the
early
’90’s
the
program
has
been
instrumental
in
working
towards
the
protection
of
both
resident
and
migratory
cetacean
species.