The Bazaruto Archipelago National Park (BANP) is a protected area in the

Inhambane Province Inhambane is a province of Mozambique located on the coast in the southern part of the country. It has an area of 68,615 km2 and a population of 1,488,676 (2017 census). The provincial capital is also called Inhambane. The climate is trop ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

on the

Bazaruto Archipelago The Bazaruto Archipelago () is a group of six islands in Mozambique, near the mainland city of Vilankulo. It comprises the islands of Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Santa Carolina and Bangué. Geography The group belongs to the Vilanculo ...

. The park was proclaimed on 25 May 1971. It is off the coast of the Vilanculos and Inhassoro districts, covering a large expanse of ocean and five islands.

Location

The Bazaruto National Park was inaugurated in 1971. It consists of an archipelago of five islands off the Mozambican coast between

Vilankulo Vilankulo (or Vilanculos) is a coastal town in Mozambique, lying in the Vilanculos District of Inhambane Province. Vilankulo is named after local tribal chief Gamela Vilankulo Mukoke, and some of the "bairros" (suburbs) are named after his sons. ...

and Inhassoro. The park was created to protect

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...

and marine turtles, and their habitats. The islands' flora and fauna, coral reefs and marine birds were also included. The largest island of the archipelago is

Bazaruto Island Bazaruto () is a barrier island in the Bazaruto Archipelago of southern Mozambique. The largest island of the archipelago, Bazaruto sits near the eastern rim of the African continental shelf, sheltering the mainland coast on the other side of Ba ...

and the others are Benguerra, Margaruque, Santa Carolina (Paradise Island), and Banque.

Ecology

The islands have a lush tropical climate and include huge dunes, forest and savannah, inland lakes and wetlands. They host several endemic terrestrial gastropods and lizards, as well as important aggregations of

Palaearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

migrant

water birds A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystem Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of Earth's ...

. There are over 240 varieties of birds. These include the coucal,

crab-plover The crab-plover or crab plover (''Dromas ardeola)'' is a coastal wader (shorebird). It is the only member of the genus ''Dromas'' and the family Dromadidae. It is unique among waders in making use of ground warmth to aid the incubation of its e ...

, and

sea eagle A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the subfamily Haliaeetinae of the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Ten extant species exist, currently described w ...

. The rich variety of marine life includes marine turtles, six species of dolphins, marlins and barracudas. The open ocean has superpods of dolphins and humpback whales can be seen in the winter months.

Whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter feeder, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known Extant taxon, extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of . The whale shark holds many records for ...

s can be seen between October and April. There are over 2,000 species of fish and 500 mollusc species. All five regional turtle species nest here, making it the only known place in the western Indian Ocean where this happens. Inland freshwater lakes are home to crocodiles. The BANP gives protection to the largest and the only remaining viable population of

s in the Western Indian Ocean. In 2022, they were listed as 'critically endangered' on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

for East Africa. Additionally the park protects Rhino rays, like the

guitarfish The guitarfish, also referred to as shovelnose rays, are a family, Rhinobatidae, of rays. The guitarfish are known for an elongated body with a flattened head and trunk and small, ray-like wings. The combined range of the various species is tro ...

and wedgefish. These have been listed as one of the world's most threatened marine fishes. In 2019,the IUCN listed 15 species as 'critically endangered'. The coral reefs are varied and said to be the least disturbed in this part of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

People

The archipelago had about 6,500 residents in 2024 in seven communities. Only 3 of the islands are inhabited. They are mostly very poor and rely on harvesting natural resources to survive. 70% of households rely on small-scale fishing to survive, while others harvest sand oysters and other marine resources, grow crops and raise livestock. Resources may not be sufficient to maintain the population, leading to decreased catches of fish, reduced harvests and increasing poverty and food insecurity. Jobs developed after African Parks began management have positively impacted the economy.

Conservation and Tourism

The archipelago experienced illegal fishing practices as well as overuse of natural resources. Additionally there was poaching and poorly regulated tourism activities. This threatened the area's biodiversity. Fishing practices and pollution are two reasons for the decline of the dugong population. Both destroy the seagrasses dugong depend on for food. The BANP is a popular tourist destination. The 30 metre water clarity and rich coral life draw divers and snorkellers. Like mainland Mozambique, the beaches have soft white sand attracting beach lovers. As of 2011, the park had five hotels promoting high-value, low-impact programs. The hotels make an important contribution to the local economy through employment and tax revenues. The

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

(WWF) has a program to help the local communities to become more sophisticated in realizing a share of revenues in return for protecting valuable ecological resources. Since 2019, infrastructure has improved and the economy, through conservation-led practices, has created jobs. In December 2017, management of the park passed to

African Parks African Parks is a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on biodiversity conservation through protected area management, established in 2000 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded as the African Parks Management and ...

. They co-manage with Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas.

References

{{authority control African Parks (organisation) Geography of Inhambane Province National parks of Mozambique Protected areas established in 1971 Tourist attractions in Inhambane Province Southern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic Bazaruto Archipelago