Africa-Press – Mozambique. Communities surrounding Banhine National Park in the districts of Chigubo, Mapai and Mabalane, Gaza province, are starting to benefit from 20% of the revenue from tourism exploitation of that conservation area, a measure provided for in the Forestry Law in conjunction with Decree 12/2002 of June 6, which aims to strengthen participatory governance and boost the equitable and effective growth of the local population.
Approximately 52 years after the official establishment of the protected area, revenues from tourism operations are beginning to reach local communities directly, complementing the various initiatives included in the park’s social responsibility, namely the construction of social infrastructure, financing of agricultural activities and the inclusion of children in the school environment, an action that has resulted in a significant improvement in the living conditions of the population living in the surrounding area.
In this context, a cheque for 650,000 meticais was presented in a ceremony presided over by the Governor of Gaza province, Margarida Sebastião Mapandzene Chongo, in the presence of the Secretary of State for Land and Environment, Gustavo Sobrinho Djedje, and the Director General of ANAC, Pejul Calenga, administrators from the three districts covered and representatives of the management committees from the benefiting communities.
According to Margarida Chongo, the initiative aims to finance projects that are locally defined and identified as priorities for the development of communities, as well as to encourage them to actively participate in the process of conserving natural resources and wildlife, in order to eliminate conflicts between humans and wildlife, a phenomenon that, in addition to causing deaths and the devastation of farms, can result in an imbalance in the ecosystem.
With this approach, as the Governor of Gaza province argued, the conditions are created for strengthening relations between the local population and the park, where the latter take on the task of establishing alternative livelihoods, consolidating a collective commitment that aims to ensure happy coexistence between humans and nature.
During her visit to Banhine National Park, Governor Margarida Sebastião Mapandzene Chong inaugurated a residence for the conservation area’s rangers, a modern, well-equipped turn-key facility.
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