The Maputo National Park, recently established by the Council of Ministers (Decree No. 100/2021 of December 31) and under the authority of the National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC), and comprises two former adjacent reserves which were joined under the same managerial team: The Maputo Special Reserve (MSR, established in 1932) and the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve (POPMR, est. 2009). The park is located in southern Mozambique, and it is bordered by Maputo Bay and the Indian Ocean. The park, located within the Maputaland Coastal Plain, harbours unique terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems and high levels of endemism. The park’s western coastal cordon includes a barrier island system that contributes to the highly productive Maputo Bay, with extensive intertidal seagrass beds and mud flats, mangrove forests and unique shallow-water coral reef communities.

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The park has important flagship species such as a population of almost 800 elephants, five species of sea turtles, as well as the IUCN Red Listed dugong. The park has a rich ichthyofauna with more than 1 000 species of fish positively identified, including the largest aggregation recorded of the giant trevally, important groupers (the potato bass and the brindle bass), among many others. The park as long been identified as an important biodiversity hotspot, e.g.: (1) the Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) that stretches from the Incomati River to Ponta do Ouro; (2) Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and Important Plant Areas (IPAs), which includes the MSR, and, (3) the recently classified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA). The park is also part of the first marine transboundary area in Africa, the Ponta do Ouro – Kosi Bay TFCA, encompassing the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Site. To ensure long-term conservation and ecosystem connectivity, the Government of Mozambique is currently preparing the nomination dossier in order to have it declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as an extension of iSimangaliso.

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Populations living within and around the project area have been steadily growing. They are greatly dependent on subsistence rainfed agriculture and domestic livestock. Artisanal and subsistence fisheries is one, if not the most, important activity for the majority, especially the communities living adjacent to Maputo Bay. Artisanal fisheries generate revenue and provide food security. Recent data indicate that the number of dependent fishers and stakeholders has been steadily rising and this is accompanied by an observed increase in fishing effort.