BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION AND RESTORATION
In 2022, after four years of negotiations and consultations, a historic new Global Biodiversity Framework was signed by 188 countries across the globe as part of the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. An integral component of the framework is the ambitious ‘30×30’ conservation objective, a rallying cry for the preservation of 30% of the earth’s terrestrial and marine spaces through the creation of protected areas and the implementation of other area-based conservation strategies.
TRANSBOUNDARY SUCCESSES
At the heart of this global conservation mission, Peace Parks actively supports the framework’s 30×30 target. It does so by facilitating the formation of large transboundary landscapes, the expert management of protected areas, and the enhancement of ecological linkages therein. In many areas where wildlife has been depleted over the years, Peace Parks carefully rebuilds populations by restocking and translocating wildlife from areas where there is an abundance.
Peace Parks is responsible for the co-management of 648,137 km2 in nine protected areas within the larger transboundary landscapes. We are committed to supporting cross-border tourism; conducting joint law enforcement operations; conducting research and development of new technologies; and investing in processes and partnerships that advance our mission. Illegal activities such as poaching are internationally driven and can thrive when cross-border collaboration between authorities is lacking. It is exactly for that reason that the impacts of transboundary collaboration are so obvious and impressive.
THE RETURN OF THE RHINO
For more than four decades, rhino were absent from Mozambique due to the impacts of a civil war lasting 16 years. Zinave National Park, once teeming with wildlife, fell silent as most species became extinct after a collapse of park management. However, once Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) and Peace Parks started their restoration efforts in 2015, the park’s fauna started to revive. By 2022, over 2,300 mammals representing 16 species were reintroduced, including a mega-herd of eland, and the park saw the natural return of its first lion. After seven dedicated years, Zinave was finally ready to reintroduce another keystone species, the African rhinoceros, solidifying its recovery. A significant highlight was the successful reintroduction of both black and white rhino, marking their return to Mozambique’s national parks. Zinave is now being rewilded naturally through reproduction and migration via ecological linkages.
