MOZAMBIQUE After emerging from 16 years of brutal civil war, Mozambique stands at a crossroads between conservation and development—although when done properly, both are possible. While one of the world's poorest countries, Mozambique has tremendous potential for eco-tourism with its beautiful beaches, safari life, and Lake Malawi diving opportunities. Foreign investors are financing the construction of a number of hotels.

While forest covers nearly a quarter of the country, Mozambique has little tropical forest coverage. Nevertheless, deforestation rates are quite low—only 3.7 percent of the country's forest cover was lost between 1990 and 2005—and have not increased significantly in the past five years. As of 2003, 5.7 percent of the country was under some form of protection, although poaching is a problem in some areas. Mozambique's large protected area is Limpopo National Park, which is part of the larger Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, consisting of Limpopo, Kruger National Park in South Africa, and Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe.

In the early to mid-2000s, an American internet executive committed more than $30 million to rebuilding Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique as an ecotourism destination. Greg Carr, former chairman of Prodigy Internet and Boston Technology, planned to reintroduce animals from elsewhere in Africa

Mozambique has 685 species of birds, 195 mammals, 228 reptiles, 59 amphibians, and nearly 5,700 species of plants.

In 2005, Mozambique launched a "Small Grants Programme" with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This provides grants of up to US$50,000 and other support to community-based groups and non-governmental organizations for activities that address land degradation, biodiversity, and climate-change issues at the local level.

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Suggested reading - Books

• Lonely Planet Mozambique
• The Bradt Travel Guide Mozambique
• Mozambique Travel Guide
• Birds of Eastern Africa

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Last updated: 4 Feb 2006