iSimangaliso Wetland Park – Maputo National Park

Brief synthesis The iSimangaliso Wetland Park – Maputo National Park transboundary property is one of the most outstanding natural wetland and coastal sites of Africa, lying along the southern limit of the East African coastal plain. Covering a combined area of 397,403 ha, it includes a wide range of undisturbed marine, coastal, wetland, estuarine, freshwater and terrestrial environments which are scenically beautiful and largely intact. These include coral reefs, long sandy beaches, coastal dunes, lake systems, swamps, extensive wetlands, mangroves and seagrass beds, providing critical habitat for a wide range of species from southern Africa's marine environments, wetlands and savannahs. The interaction of these environments with major floods and coastal storms in the property’s transitional location has resulted in continuing speciation and significant species diversity. Among the property’s important natural phenomena are communities of nesting turtles, terrestrial and marine megafauna and large aggregations of waterfowl. Criterion (vii): iSimangaliso Wetland Park – Maputo National Park includes a diverse mosaic of terrestrial, coastal and marine land and seascapes of exceptional beauty, with superlative scenic vistas along its coastline. From the clear waters of the Indian Ocean punctuated by colourful coral reefs to wide intact sandy beaches, a forested cordon of dunes and a network of wetlands, grasslands, estuarine systems, forests, freshwater lakes, mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs and savannah, the property has a richly textured landscape and exceptional aesthetic qualities. Outstanding natural phenomena include the shifting salinity status within Lake St. Lucia linked to wet and dry climatic cycles, the spectacle of large numbers of nesting turtles on the beaches and the abundance of marine megafauna including dolphins and migrating whales and Whale Shark and the large aggregations of waterfowl and large breeding colonies of pelicans, storks, herons and terns and the site’s contribution to the East Asia-East Africa global flyway for migratory birds along the east coast of Africa. Criterion (ix): The combination of fluvial, marine and aeolian processes in iSimangaliso Wetland Park – Maputo National Park has resulted in a variety of landforms. The property’s transitional geographic location between sub-tropical and tropical Africa, as well as its coastal setting, have resulted in significant species and ecosystem diversity, including freshwater lakes and coastal lagoons, mangroves, seagrass meadows, and dunes. Speciation processes in the larger Maputaland Centre of Endemism, which this property sits within, are also ongoing and contribute another element to the diversity and interplay of evolutionary processes at work in the property. In the marine components of the site, the sediments being transported by the Agulhas Current are trapped by submarine canyons on the continental shelf allowing for remarkably clear waters for the development of coral reefs. The interplay of this diverse environmental processes is further marked by major floods and coastal storms. Criterion (x): The extensive range of interconnected habitats across terrestrial, coastal and marine areas within the property support a significant diversity of African biota, including numerous threatened and endemic species of flora and fauna. The species recorded for iSimangaliso are extensive, and population sizes for most of them remain viable. The over 6,500 plant and animal (including 521 bird) species recorded in iSimangaliso Wetland Park include 11 species endemic to the protected area, 108 species endemic to South Africa, and 467 species listed as threatened in South Africa. Of the 4,935 species recorded in Maputo National Park at the time of the extension, 104 are assessed as threatened or near threatened according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened species, and 184 are endemic or near endemic to Mozambique (5), southern Africa (95) and the Western Indian Ocean (135). Notably, the vulnerable Loggerhead Turtle and Leatherback Turtle nest along the property’s coastal dunes and sandy beaches, making it the second most important nesting site in the Indian Ocean. The extensive and diverse seagrass meadows in the waters of Inhaca Island’s western shores in Maputo National Park, including vulnerable species such as Cape Dwarf-Eelgrass, shelter the last remaining Dugong population of Maputo Bay. Integrity The transboundary property is of sufficient size and retains most of the key attributes that are essential to express the scenic natural beauty, species diversity and maintain the long-term functioning of the ecosystems. The property consists of both marine and terrestrial elements: iSimangaliso Wetland Park consists of 13 separate but contiguous conservation units, whereas Maputo National Park follows the boundaries of the nationally designated national park (with the exclusion of the Futi Corridor). In South Africa the property possesses a nationally delineated buffer zone through a ‘zone of influence’, while in Mozambique, the buffer zone of the Maputo National Park, corresponding to the Maputo Environmental Protection Area, was recognised by the World Heritage Committee. The state of conservation of the property is relatively secure, although the functioning of ecosystems and species diversity is prone to impacts from changes to the hydrological regime, extractive (subsistence or commercial) activities, development and tourism activities and therefore the impacts should be closely monitored, controlled and mitigated, to maintain the long-term integrity of the property and minimise threats. Protection and management requirements The property is owned by the respective states and strictly protected by the respective national legislation in South Africa and Mozambique. iSimangaliso Wetland Park is a nationally protected area, and management responsibility is at the provincial level under Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (previously known as the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service) and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority at the site level. Maputo National Park is also a nationally designed protected area and is managed by the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) with the support of Peace-Parks Foundation through a co-management agreement. The management of the property is guided by two separate comprehensive management plans (the management plan of Maputo National Park, Mozambique, and the management plan of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa). However, an integrated management plan for the entire property should be a long-term ambition, in addition to the maintenance of protected area specific plans. The transboundary management of the property benefits from longstanding cooperation between Mozambique and South Africa, primarily through the General Protocol on the Lubombo Development Initiative and the 2001 bilateral established Transboundary Management Committee. The Transboundary Management Committee is legally empowered to take decisions regarding the management of the transboundary area and foster cooperation. There is agreement by both States Parties on the expansion of the mandate of this Committee to be the official joint management authority for the transboundary property. The property is impacted by a number of threats that will require sustained management efforts and engagement with local communities, including marine resource use and species conservation, land conversion for agriculture (particularly in the South African component), concerns related to human-wildlife conflict, and anthropogenic induced hydrological regime changes. It is essential to ensure that any development and tourism-related projects within and beyond the boundaries of the property are carefully considered and regulated to ensure compatibility with the maintenance of Outstanding Universal Value in the long-term.