Heading out on safari trucks to experience the changes in Zinave National Park is something Peace Parks often does with its partners. It really is the only way to see what tremendous restoration has taken place over the past decade.
Situated in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique, Zinave National Park is an outstanding example of what can be achieved through healthy partnerships between communities, conservationists and governments. After 16 years of unrest in Mozambique nearly destroyed wildlife populations, very few could have imagined the Zinave of today. Thanks to some incredible rewilding and restoration efforts, the park has undergone an epic transformation — from a silent landscape, to a thriving wilderness area singing with the sounds of nature.
Zinave’s return to glory was given a major boost after the signing of a co-management agreement between Peace Parks Foundation and Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation in 2015. This unlocked significant investment into the park which saw rapid infrastructure developments and improvements in its management structures. Security efforts were also enhanced which then paved the way for the restoration of its ecosystem through rewilding.
In the middle of the reserve, far away from any fencelines, a beautiful 18 600 hectare expanse of wilderness now provides a sanctuary for more than 2 200 translocated animals. Wildlife numbers in this protected environment are booming. So much so, that Peace Parks was able to reintroduce the first predators – a clan of four spotted hyena – in 2020. Elephants, giraffe and a wide variety of other mammals, big and small, also criss-cross the woodlands and plains of the reserve.
The platforms have now been laid for a thriving tourism economy, boosted by the development of tourism infrastructure and the employment of people from surrounding communities. Thanks to the dedication of Peace Parks Foundation and its Mozambican partners, the future of Zinave shines bright!
