Community Development

The livelihoods of thousands of people rely on the natural resources provided by Bazaruto’s vulnerable ecosystems. Three of the islands are permanently inhabited by some 7,000 local people, governed through traditional councils and relying on the area’s marine resources for subsistence and small-scale commercial fishing. Community development includes engaging with the community, environmental education and sustainable enterprise development, ensuring that local communities benefit from and support the preservation of this archipelago. Developing sustainable tourism initiatives is simultaneously contributing to job creation and local revenue streams are being managed to retain the park’s ecological integrity. These efforts are all contributing and are testament to the significance of inclusive community development in safeguarding Bazaruto’s biodiversity.

Community meeting with the Bazaruto team to raise environmental awareness around the archipelago ©Jeremy Hu

African Parks’ community engagement programme has built a firm foundation on which the relationship between the local communities and park management can thrive. Frequent community engagement meetings are held with local people, and a Community Development Strategy has been developed with the participation of key stakeholders, including community representatives. 

In 2024, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, mobile health clinics reached over 4,000 patients on the islands of Benguerra, Bazaruto and Magarugue. The health programme focused on education and women empowerment, with lectures held on family planning and women’s health, gender-based violence, nutrition and maternal and child health. Prenatal consultations were also provided, while protection kits (consisting of healing products, moisturisers, sunscreens, and sunglasses) were distributed to people with skin pigmentation problems in Benguerra. 

African Parks continues to provide educational opportunities that support economic and social transformation while raising environmental awareness. The provision of school facilities and learning materials assists many community members to seek and access employment. The park has extended its school support to the mainland districts of Vilankulo and Inhassoro, securing education for hundreds of schoolchildren. The BANP Environmental Education Programme is made up of eight eco-clubs, engaging with nearly 300 students and teachers, while the student support programme, now in its sixth year, benefitted over 500 students with teaching materials and scholarships. 

To support environmental education for adults, awareness campaigns regarding protected and prohibited species are held, accessing thousands of people, while the “Sports Preserving the Environment” championships regularly attract over 1,400 attendees.

Community members involved in a plastic clean-up programme around Bazaruto ©Adam Rabinowitz

Enterprise development is being achieved through the growth of the sustainable tourism industry in Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, not only creating jobs but also stimulating the local economy. The park contributes 20% annually of all tourism revenue to local communities through their respective councils to support projects that benefit the community as a whole.

By partnering with local communities, park management aims to collaborate more effectively and support local economies to alleviate pressure from unsustainable fisheries on marine biodiversity. These efforts include looking at new sustainable fishing techniques that are less destructive than seine netting; these have been well received by the community.

Income-generating projects, such as conservation agriculture, provide an alternative to dependence on the park’s resources. To assist this, a community training centre has been built on Bazaruto Island, where young people are trained in key vocational skills and tourism-related courses. In 2024, 127 graduates benefitted from the park-supported vocational courses in 14 specialties including industrial welding, chemical processes, mechanics, catering and hospitality, bricklaying, tiling, electrical installation, carpentry and plumbing. The centre also operates as a bakery where graduates of the hospitality programme run a business to supply bread to the community. To support ongoing sustainable agriculture, six agriculture groups have been created, their members receiving training in natural pesticide production, food production and nutrition. Others have been trained in the production of high-quality handcrafts made of natural material from the islands.

The safe and sustainable disposal of refuse is an ongoing project, which employs over 50 refuse collectors across the islands. To raise awareness about waste, a community waste collection day was held in 2024, resulting in 188 tonnes of waste — including 89 tonnes of plastic — being collected. With the plastic collected, 85,072 paving bricks were produced at the Bazaruto recycling centre. 

The same team participates in other conservation activities, including a reforestation programme, where in 2024, over a thousand plants of different native species were produced in greenhouses, and trees planted on the islands to re-establish deforested areas. Seedlings of creepers are being propagated and planted out to combat coastal erosion.