Covering approximately 29% of the national territory, Conservation Areas host ecosystems and habitats where numerous species of fauna and flora of local, national, and global ecological value occur. Essential for the reproduction and development of species, Conservation Areas protect the country’s natural, cultural, and socio-economic environments.

According to the Regulation of Law No. 16/2014 of 20 June (Law on the Protection, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity), as amended and republished by Law No. 5/2017 of 11 May, Conservation Areas—including other types of protected zones—are grouped into different categories according to their level of protection. This diversity of Conservation Area categories in Mozambique encompasses distinct ecosystems, both terrestrial and marine, which host a unique and special biological diversity that plays a very important role in providing environmental, social, cultural, and economic services.

In Mozambique, the management of the national network of Conservation Areas is carried out by the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC), an entity under the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries (MAAP). BIOFUND was established in 2011 as a financial mechanism to support Conservation Areas, having disbursed more than USD 55 million between 2016 and 2026.

Conservation Areas are managed by both the public and private sectors, including the increasingly common co-management model (usually public-private). The public sector manages National Parks, Special and National Reserves, and Community Conservation Areas, with or without collaborative management agreements. Other categories of Conservation Areas—such as Official Coutadas, Game Farms, and Hunting Blocks—are managed by private sector concessionaires and are generally designated for the development of hunting tourism. Additionally, Forest Reserves are managed by the National Directorate of Forests and Wildlife.

There is a global commitment to expand and conserve at least 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030, thereby increasing the economic benefits derived from the sustainable use of marine resources, enhancing scientific knowledge, promoting research, and facilitating the transfer of marine-based technologies. These and other targets are part of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), one of the 17 SDGs of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, to which Mozambique is a signatory.

In 2020, the Government of Mozambique and the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) Secretariat designated 29 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Mozambique, of which 84.5% are under some form of formal protection, while 15% still lack formal protection status. Meanwhile, the 57 recently mapped Important Plant Areas (IPAs) also provide a basis for prioritizing areas to be integrated into the national network of protected areas, including the possibility of being recognized under the category of Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMs), as advocated globally and in Mozambique by the IUCN.