The Limpopo National Park (LNP), located in the southern province of Gaza, needs to mobilise around 10 million Euros to resettle 800 families living within its boundaries.
For the materialization of this situation, the Government of Massingir district, together with the authorities of PNL and partners are in advanced negotiations with the German Development Bank (KFW), to find a source of funding for the operation.
The community in question is the community of Mavoze, which has been established within the park for several years, with stabilised livelihoods, and whose main activities are subsistence agriculture and cattle-raising. Unfortunately, this circumstance clashes with the management plan for native vegetation and wildlife.
According to the Mozambique Information Agency (AIM), the resettlement process, which began in 2012, has already managed to get four communities out of the park. The latest was Bingo Chitar, made up of 200 families, and the construction of about 300 houses is underway to resettle the community in question, which, due to the slowness of the process, has been growing over time.
The removal of this community from the conservation area, described as being of capital importance for the ecotourism activity within the park, is pointed out as the main source of income, not only for the conservation activities, but also for the sustenance of the communities through the transfer of part of the income resulting from the tourism activity.
The fact was mentioned a few days ago in Massingir, by the district administrator, Esmeralda Muthemba, in a contact established with AIM.
“Right now, we need 10 million euros to evacuate the entire community of Mavoze, which has 800 families. The resettlement process took a long time, so the populations have been growing, which has also raised the budget,” said the administrator.
The amount will be invested in building the houses, compensating families and transferring them to the new areas identified, preparing the agricultural fields and building social infrastructure, among other activities.
