Introduction

The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is comprised of three parks, i.e. the Kruger National Park in South Africa, the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. The area proclaimed as Parque Nacional do Limpopo (PNL) in November 2001 was formerly used as a hunting zone (Coutada 16) and covers a vast area of 1,123,316 ha.

After the Mozambique Peace Accord of 1992, on the recommendation of the Mozambican Council of Ministers, the Global Environment Facility, through the World Bank, funded feasibility analyses, which culminated in a series of recommendations contained in a 1996 report. The long-held vision of linking the three national parks, as well as key interstitial areas, became reality with the formal agreements of the Governments of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe on 10th November 2000, to establish the Great Limpopo Trans Frontier Park and Conservation Area.

One of the first steps taken by the Mozambican Government to implement the formal agreement was to change the legal status of Coutada 16 to that of a National Park. A formal treaty establishing the Trans Frontier Park was signed by the Heads of State in Xai Xai in December 2002.

Boundaries

The western perimeter of the Park is formed by the border with South Africa and stretches in a north-south direction for a distance of nearly 200km. The Zimbabwean border touches on the most northerly tip of the area and then runs away in a north-easterly direction. The Limpopo River forms the eastern boundary, whilst the Olifants (Elefantes) River forms the southern boundary.

Development

Although the Parque Nacional do Limpopo was officially opened to the public in August 2005 when the Presidents of the three respective countries opened the Giriyondo Border Gate between the Kruger National Park and the Parque Nacional do Limpopo, the park is still being developed. Communities still live in 7 villages within the park and their subsistence is from their livestock (cattle and goats) and through planting of seasonal plant stocks. These communities will either be resettled outside the park or will form enclave communities within the park.

The park has already commenced with the process of resettling the communities in accordance with World Bank guidelines. It is expected that the resettlement process will be completed within the next five years.

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