NEWS
Figure 6 . Niassa is a ’ special ’ reserve in that villages live within the park . The Niassa Carnivore Project ( NCP ) has been operating the park for 19 years , together with ANAC making inroads in carnivore conservation through environmental education , job creation and tertiary education opportunities . Colleen and Keith Begg are concerned about what happens to the people that have become their family , and the wildlife they are trying to protect . ( Photo : Colleen Begg )
Government and international response
The IOM has been releasing clear and detailed information daily on the numbers of people fleeing villages , including the genders and ages of those fleeing which village and the provisions needed to assist in their relocation .
President Felipe Nyusi in a speech at a military graduation ceremony in Nampula on Monday said “ the enemy is scattering , they ’ re running away …” because the Mozambique military and their allies from Rwanda and SADC had “
imposed heavy losses on the terrorists in Cabo Delgado .”
Figure 7 . The Niassa Carnivore Project ( NCP ) runs an annual education camp at Mariri Environmental Centre in the reserve , where 100 children and teachers spend four nights ” learning , playing , climbing ” says Colleen Begg . ( Photo : Colleen Begg )
Some tourism and conservation operators who have left the area say they have no confidence in the military ’ s ability to act . Colleen says she is waiting for an official government response .
Hope for conservation
Beyond the humanitarian crisis playing out now , uppermost in the minds of those focused on Mozambique ’ s rare biodiversity status will be another kind of hope . Hope that the country ’ s recent environmental focus — including President Nyusi attending the collaring of a Niassa elephant named ‘ Mr President ’, after him , as part of an elephant monitoring operation near a village in the reserve — will act as some sort of stimulus for the country to act quickly .
Beyond the conservation kudos that ‘ Mr President ’ attaches to Felipe Nyusi , ANAC has been busy , in partnership with both African Parks and the South Africa-based Peace Parks Foundation , consolidating environmental gains in many of the country ’ s parks . In the past three months alone ANAC and its partners were involved in relocating elephants to parks in Zambezia province and
reintroducing cheetah to the Maputo Special Reserve in southern Mozambique , where they haven ’ t been seen since the 1960s .
So conservation and tourism , albeit Mozambique-slowly and in between cyclones , are both in a rebuilding phase .
The Niassa Carnivore Project ’ s 2020 Annual Report revealed 27 lion , seven hyena , seven leopard and five wild dogs poached in Niassa Special Reserve . On the same page , it revealed a commitment to “ hiring and training Niassa residents for our staff , providing advanced schooling through scholarships , and mentoring young Mozambican conservationists ”.
It ’ s a well-worn and proven path , working with communities to ensure sustainable conservation of species .
Colleen says 100 children and their teachers from schools across the Reserve come each year to visit the Mariri Environmental and Skills Training Centre , which the Project opened in 2015 .
“ They play conservation games , climb mountains , go on game drives , debate conservation issues , clean up fishing camps and learn about alternative livelihoods like gardening , livestock breeding and beekeeping . They laugh , learn , see and experience the best of Niassa .”
A happy , idyllic vision shrouded in the dark cloud of Islamic State ( IS ) insurgents .
“ We need to put a face and details to this ”, says the former Parktown Girls High pupil . “ Remember our humanity , over and above the fear and the horrific loss of a life , there are many daily struggles as the fragile social and economic infrastructure collapses .”
Grassroots Vol 22 No 1 March 2022 32