APPEM: Protected Areas and Elephant Protection in Mozambique

The country is facing an explosion in poaching which, in the space of six years, has led to the disappearance of almost 50% of the country's elephants, putting the species at risk of extinction. In addition to the incredible ecological loss, this crisis is destabilizing the entire conservation sector (corruption, tourism, etc.) despite a constantly consolidating legal framework. At the same time, the financial sustainability of the protected areas system, which today depends on international donor aid for over 80% of its costs, is a challenge that must be overcome if conservation activities are to be sustained. 

The project contributes to France's commitment to the preservation of biodiversity, notably in the fight against poaching and wildlife crime, as well as the development of innovative financing mechanisms, in particular conservation trust funds. It is in line with AFD's transversal biodiversity intervention framework (protect, restore, manage and enhance ecosystems sustainably) and its mandate in Mozambique, which makes the management of natural resources and the preservation of biodiversity one of its two major areas of intervention.

The main objective of the project is to strengthen the management of protected areas and the protection of large fauna, in particular elephants, by:

• reinforcing the management, control and anti-poaching capacities of the Niassa Special Reserve and Limpopo National Park;
• supporting the Administration Nationale des Aires de Conservation (ANAC), the agency in charge of managing conservation areas, in its anti-poaching activities;
• operationalizing the BIOFUND trust fund, whose aim is to mobilize, receive and manage public and private funds for the country's conservation areas.