The Bazaruto Archipelago National Park (BANP) is one of Mozambique’s oldest and most well-known marine protected areas and was formed in 1971 to protect dugong, marine turtles and other abundant marine life, diverse coral reefs and other critical habitats.



The area is truly spectacular and one of Mozambique's marine gems. BANP has a competent co-management partner in African Parks and receives a great deal of technical assistance and attention from bilateral, regional and NGO partners. The Government of Mozambique signed a 25-year renewable partnership agreement with African Parks, a conservation NGO that leads co-management agreements in Africa. Numerous direct flights from Maputo and Johannesburg, plenty of world class resorts, numerous dive and coastal tourism facilities and the sheer beauty of the coastal and marine assets of the BANP make the BANP a destination in itself, or a required stopping point in a circuit of Mozambique.


 BANP is at its core a marine protected area in that it is primarily coastal and shallow ocean coverage centered around the five islands that form the core of the BANP. BANPs biodiversity assets have been extremely well documented and monitored since the creation of the park. Five islands make up the Bazaruto Archipelago. The largest and northernmost island is Bazaruto, a 30km long and 5km wide island, covering approximately 12,000 ha, is dotted with a few freshwater lakes near its southern tip. South of Bazaruto Island is Benguérua, the second-largest island at 11km long by 5.5km wide and covering 2,500 ha, was known to the Portuguese as Santa Antonio, but was later renamed after an important local chief.


 South of this is Magaruque, the much smaller but more densely populated of the islands, covering 600 ha. The smallest island covering approximately 500 ha is Santa Carolina, also known as Paradise Island, is a former penal colony covering an area of about 2km2 roughly halfway between Bazaruto and the mainland near Inhassoro. The fifth barrier island, Bangué at about 5 ha, is only rarely visited by tourists. Habitats include sandy beaches, coastal dunes and coastal lakes, mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, deep sea and offshore deep-sea canyons. African Parks reports that the last viable population of 250 dugongs can be found in the BANP, alongside a variety of marine turtles, whales, dolphins, giant mantas, as well as seahorses that are found in the seagrass meadows.


 There are three seahorses reported in this area: Hippocampus camelopardalis, Hippocampus kuda and Hippocampus histrix. The latter two are on the IUCN Red List.66 Extensive seagrass beds have been documented in and around BANP, which are essential habitat for non-migratory dugong populations. In addition, 153 invertebrate species have been identified in the area, including six species of gastropods that are believed to be endemic to the Bazaruto Archipelago.67 Extensive coral reefs have been documented as well as the 9 marine mammals species, 500 species of coastal and marine mollusks, and 2,000 fish species. 


There are also 150 species of birds that have been recorded, including petrels, gulls and flamingos. Despite BANP being one of the more extensively studied marine protected areas in Mozambique, one typically only comes across reports on turtles, dugongs, whales, mantas, whale sharks and a few other species. Studies on the smaller species critical for marine ecosystems have not been undertaken. About 80 kilometers north of Vilanculos and 30 kilometers north of Inhassoro is Bartolomeu Dias, a small town with a bay, that is gaining increased recognition for its marine biodiversity, and there is talk about expanding the Bazaruto MPA north to include Bartolomeu Dias.

The BANP hold tremendous blue economy potential, particularly around coastal and marine tourism as well as marine research activities. There are well-established and highend lodges and diving centres on Bazaruto Island and on Benguerra Island, as well as numerous lodges, restaurants and other touristrelated infrastructure on the mainland cities of Vilanculos and Inhassoro.


Visitors can travel directly to Vilanculos on flights from Johannesburg as well as through regularly serviced flights on LAM from Maputo, making access easy and convenient. The main threats to BANP are unregulated tourism activities and overuse of natural resources, as well as the impact of the 5,800 people who live within the park on three of the islands. Known for its dwindling population of dugongs, the seagrass beds the dugongs feed on are particularly ensitive to coastal tourism activities. And extractive industries, which move  of these sites as KBAs would help justify the establishment of stronger management and conservation measures, especially for the additional area currently not covered by MPA designation, for the protection of the key marine biodiversity found in the area.


In 2015, the World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) executed the $46 million Mozambique Conservation Areas for Biodiversity and Development Project (MozBio) to support the conservation sector with investments made for institutional development, tourism, conservation area management and improved living conditions of communities. In September 2018, the 45-million 5-year Mozbio-2 agreement was signed to increase the effectiveness of conservation area management and improve the living conditions of resident communities. MozBio-1 assisted in signing the latest co-management agreement for BANP with African Parks and has supported sustainable fishing activities in BANP. MozBio also works within BANP to strengthen people’s livelihoods with activities that combat the over-exploitation of natural resources and promote conservation and around the park and San Sebastian.