Peace Parks Foundation invests US$23m in four Mozambican parks

“For the current year, 2026, we have a budget of around US$23 million (€19.9 million) available to support the continued operation and development of the four parks, namely Maputo, Banhine, Limpopo and Zinave national parks, including ecological connectivity areas within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area,” Bartolomeu Soto, Peace Parks Foundation regional manager for southern Mozambique, said on Saturday in Gaza province. According to Soto, part of the funding will be invested in Banhine National Park, where work is under way to strengthen wildlife populations and improve park management infrastructure. “Over the next two years, we intend to continue investing in infrastructure at Banhine National Park, with around US$500,000 (€433,600).

We want to expand the park headquarters, bringing our teams closer to the areas where their presence is most needed,” he said. The official also highlighted the recent transfer of wildlife from Maputo National Park to Banhine National Park as part of efforts to restock animal populations. “For the first time, 418 animals have been translocated from Maputo National Park to Banhine National Park.

They include impalas, zebras and blue wildebeest,” he said, adding that the first 20 giraffes are also due to be introduced into the conservation area later this year. Founded in 1997, among others by then South African President Nelson Mandela, the Peace Parks Foundation regards the reintroduction of rhinos to Zinave National Park as a key regional milestone in efforts to protect the species from poaching. Mozambique has 12 national parks and protected areas and is home to 5,500 plant species and 4,271 terrestrial wildlife species.