Ponta Chemucane is an area of around 800 ha located north of Maputo Special Reserve, in the far south of the country, adjacent to the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve. Together, the two reserves form the marine and terrestrial components of the South Africa-Mozambique transboundary integrated protected area known as Lubombo-Maputaland: a wetland complex (swamp forests, reefs, mangroves, salt and freshwater lakes), home, among other species, to a population of 350 elephants.
The 3 communities (around 250 families, 1,000 people) living in Chemucane, represented by the “A Hi Zameni Community Association” (AZC), have been designated by the State as the beneficiary of a long-term leasehold over the 800 ha of Ponta Chemucane, granting them full rights over the area. This area, previously underdeveloped from an ecotourism perspective, is now the subject of an ecolodge development project by a private company, which — thanks to the contribution of ASLF, the project’s lead partner — will foster synergy among stakeholders aimed at professionalising AZC in ecotourism.
The project’s ultimate objective is to raise local populations’ standard of living through the sustainable enhancement of the park’s landscapes and biodiversity, in order to reduce pressures on it. More specifically, the project aims to establish an ecolodge operating on an economically viable partnership between a tourism professional and the neighbouring communities.
