Limpopo National Park Mozambique Where Nature is Winning

After years of war in Mozambique, and following the peace accord of 1992, the vision of rehabilitation and restoration of Mozambique’s once rich wildlife resources and protected areas became a reality, and the vision of linking vast tracts of protected areas across frontiers became possible.

The Limpopo National Park was born when the status of Coutada 16 Wildlife Utilization Area in Gaza Province, Mozambique, was changed from a hunting concession to a protected area. It forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park with Kruger National Park, South Africa and the Gonarezhou National Park, Zaimbabwe. The park is divided up into three separate zones of use: a tourist zone, a wilderness zone, and a resource utilization zone (hunting). Limpopo is one of the few places on earth where Nature is winning! Day by day more and more land is reverting to it pristine natural state, more and more fences are coming down, natural conservancies are being established. 

The establishment of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is a process that will link the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, Kruger National Park in South Africa, Gonarezhou National Park, Manjinji Pan Sanctuary and Malipati Safari Area in Zimbabwe, as well as two areas between Kruger and Gonarezhou. The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park will be a world-class eco-tourism destination, with extensive private sector involvement, but managed to optimise benefits for sustainable economic development of local communities and biodiversity conservation

How best to reach Limpopo, work in progress, challenges, who are the inhabitants of the park, biodiversity, importance for tourism, are only some of the I put to Mr. Derek Potter, Potter, Project Manager of the Limpopo National Park, interview.

Q: What are the Park’s immediate challenges?
Derek Potter: The challenges facing the park are
- To complete the resettlement process of the communities still living in the park. Some communities will be resettled outside the park, whilst others will form enclave communities at the Limpopo river where corridors will be made to allow animals to drink. Yet others will be resettled in the southern tip of the park and will be fenced off in an endeavour to control the human/wildlife conflict. It is expected that the resettlement process will take about 5-10 years to complete.

- Tourism numbers need to be increased in order to generate income to cover operational expenses.  To do this more tourism infrastructure needs to be created for tourists.

- Human/wildlife conflict in the park has to be minimised and make it a safer environment for the communities to live in until they are resettled.

- Awareness has to be increased in the communities that it is a conservation area they are living in and that they can benefit from tourism and tourism will only happen if there are animals about.

Q: Alone the name "Limpopo" implies a far off place. Where are you located, the area, size, how best to reach you?
Derek Potter: The LNP is located adjacent to the international border with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and to the south of the international border with Zimbabwe, in the west of Gaza Province. 

The western perimeter of the Park is formed by the border with South Africa and stretches in a north-south direction for a distance of nearly 200km.  The Zimbabwean border touches on the most northerly tip of the area and then runs away in a north-easterly direction.

The Limpopo River forms the eastern boundary, whilst the Olifants (Elefantes) River forms the southern boundary.  The course of the Limpopo River is of fundamental importance in determining the physical position of the north-eastern boundary and a number of related factors need to be considered.  These include the hydrological regime of the river, which experienced great flooding in early 2000 and periodically flows at a very high level.  The extent of the 2000 floods was so great that the valley was filled and the floodplain boundaries were exceeded.

It covers an area of 1,123,316 ha. Together with the Kruger National Park in SA and Gonarezhou in Zimbabwe, the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park it comprises an area of about 3,5 million hectares and is one of the largest conservation areas in the world.

There are various ways of entering the LNP:
- either by driving through the Kruger National Park and then entering the LNP through Giriyondo Border Post; or
- driving through the Kruger National Park and then entering the LNP at Pafuri Border Post in the north; or
- by flying to Maputo and driving up to the LNP – about 4 hours drive.

Q: Tell us something about yourself, how do you find yourself at Limpopo national Park, share with us a moment – perhaps in your office?
Derek Potter:  I am Derek Potter and have been appointed by Peace Parks Foundation as the Project Manager of the LNP.  Together with the Park Administrator and Financial Manager we form the Project Implementation Unit of the park and are responsible for the day to day running of the park as well as ongoing liaison with government, donors, conservation agencies, etc.

Q: Limpopo – so it is being said – is one of the few places on earth were nature is winning – how – explain please the making of Limpopo National Park?
Derek Potter: The area proclaimed as Limpopo National Park (LNP) in November 2001 was formerly used as a hunting zone (Coutada 16). As early as 1938, the linking of the Kruger National Park, Coutada 16 and Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe was mooted. After the Mozambique Peace Accord of 1992, on the recommendation of the Mozambican Council of Ministers, the Global Environment Facility, through the World Bank, funded feasibility analyses, which culminated in a series of recommendations contained in a 1996 report.

The long-held vision of linking the three national parks, as well as key interstitial areas,   became reality with the formal agreements of the Governments of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe on 10th November 2000, to establish the Great Limpopo Trans Frontier Park and Conservation Area. One of the first steps taken by the Mozambican Government to implement the formal agreement was to change the legal status of Coutada 16 to that of a National Park.  A formal treaty establishing the Trans Frontier Park was signed by the Heads of State in Xai Xai in December 2002.

The objectives of the park are:
- To maintain the current ‘wilderness’ (in the sense of natural or near-natural, largely untransformed) character of LNP and to manage it as a globally important conservation area within a framework of minimum management intervention whilst ensuring the maintenance and natural evolution of ecosystem structure and function.
- To ensure the LNP’s integration into the greater TFCA planning and development framework thereby contributing to the judicious and sustainable natural resource management of the region.
- To ensure the participation of local communities in the development and management of the LNP and to ensure an equitable flow of benefits to these communities.  Such benefits should include equity-sharing in tourism developments and operations, human resource development and capacity building, employment creation, the development of SMME opportunities and improved natural resource management leading to improved livelihoods.
- To manage and develop the LNP in the interests of the people of Mozambique, both with respect to Biodiversity Conservation and with respect to making a contribution to the sustainable socio-economic development of the region and the country.
- To promote responsible tourism as a means of generating income for the LNP and as a means of driving sustainable socio-economic development in and around the Park.

Q: Who - apart from the nature - are the inhabitants of the area, resettlements, challenges, etc
Derek Potter: There are still about 1 200 families living in the park, together with their livestock, i.e. cattle, goats, chickens. Once the resettlement has taken place, it is expected that the wildlife will spread throughout the park. 

Q: It is being argued that Limpopo is one of the most interesting conservation areas in the world, can you elaborate
Derek Potter: The LNP forms part of the Great Limpopo National Park. Previously it was an old hunting area and as a consequence of the civil war depleted of wild life, but is now being restocked and the fence between Kruger Park and the LNP is being dropped.

There are huge tracks of wilderness area in the park, with sections unvisited by humans in decades. The is a very large area of sandveld in the park, which is very rare in the Kruger National Park.

Q: Would you like to tell about the rich natural diversity of the park, and what approaches are you using to protect, conserve..?
Derek Potter: The park has an established Protection Programme with fully equipped field rangers in place which serves to protect the fauna and flora as well as the people living in the park. Over and above anti-poaching training, the field rangers also receive training in conservation, combating of alien plant species.

The field rangers are deployed throughout the park. We have erected radio stations throughout the park so that the field rangers can keep in radio communication and report any problems being experienced.

Q: What is the importance of the Limpopo National Park for tourism in Mozambique and internationally?
Derek Potter: The LNP borders onto the Kruger National Park which has millions of visitors a year.  Once more tourism infrastructure is in place we expect that visitor numbers will increase, particularly as many people are looking for new experiences which offer a "rougher" type of holiday, unspoilt by humans. 

It is also situated within two hours of the Mozambican coastline which is one of the most beautiful in the world.  People can therefore combine a wildlife experience with a seaside experience.

Q: When shall we see a "Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park"?
Derek Potter: The Kruger Park has been operating for the past 100 years, while the Limpopo National Park section of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park has been open to the public since August 2005 when the Giriyondo Border Gate was opened by the Presidents of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe respectively.  Gonarezhou will also become more accessible once the Sengwe Corridor is opened between the KNP and Gonarezhou.

Q: What kind of experience and cultural experience does the park offer?
Derek Potter: Because there are still communities living in the park, it does not offer a very good game viewing experience at present. However, there is quite a lot of game about and it is expected that once the communities have been resettled, plains game will tend to move into the old household areas. 

We have just erected a Community Information Centre in one of the villages and visitors will now be able to visit the centre in order to learn more about the people and their culture.

Q: Who are the financiers and sponsors, what one can do, how can one cooperate, volunteer…?
Derek Potter: Donor funding has been received from the German Government (Kredietanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)), the French Government (Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD)), Peace Parks Foundation and as well as GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit).

But funding is still desperately required to complete the resettlement and for the operational costs of the park.

Q: Would you like to introduce your team, how are you organised?
Derek Potter: Our team consists of various programmes, i.e.:
- The PIU (Project Implementation Unit) consisting of the Park Administrator, the Project Manager and the Financial Manager. This unit is responsible for the implementation of the park and take full responsibility for everything which happens in the park

The following Programmes are all headed by a Coordinator respectively and report to the PIU:

- The Administration Programme: This programme is responsible for the support services of the Park and consists of the Human Resources and Finance divisions
- The Protection Programme: This programme consists of the two sub-units, i.e. Wildlife Management and the Anti-Poaching Unit. This programme is responsible for the protection of the park.
- The Resettlement Programme: This programme is dealing with the resettlement of the communities living in the park.
- The Community Buffer Zone Development Programme: responsible for the development of activities in the buffer zone
- Infrastructure and Maintenance Programme: responsible for all infrastructure in the park (i.e. buildings, workshops, tourism facilities) as well as the maintenance and upkeep thereof;
- Tourism Development Programme: responsible for the development of tourism in the park
- Transboundary Programme: this programme is responsible for the keeping of close ties with the park’s neighbours through liaison, close cooperation, particularly anti-poaching, etc.
- Research & Monitoring Programme: this programme is not as yet in place, but because of the rich diversity of the nature in the park it is envisaged that an ecologist will be appointed shortly.

Q: What does the tourism programme involve, wildlife events?
Derek Potter: The only tourism facilities the park has are the following

Machampane Wilderness Trails Camp which is being run by a private operator. This is a luxury tented camp with all meals supplied as well as guided game walks. They also conduct a guided 4x4 trail northwards through the park as well as a guided walking trail.
Campismo Aguia Pesqueira: this consists of four chalets as well as camping
Campismo Albufeira: this also consists of chalets as well as camping
Campismo Sandalo and Campismo Nhampfule are very basic camps on the route north towards Pafuri.

At present no wildlife events are offered. Once resettlement has been completed and more tourism infrastructure has been created, the park will offer guided game drives.
 
Q: Final thoughts, words, invitation… ?
Derek Potter: We have had quite a number of visitors from overseas to our camps and we would welcome Buzzle readers to our park should they wish to have a holiday far from "the maddening crowd".

Mr. Derek Potter, Project Manager of the Limpopo National Park, thank you very much.

Image:  View over Limpopo National Park Mozambique - one of the largest and most interesting conservation areas in the world