WCS has been working to support conservation of Mozambique’s Niassa Special Reserve (NSR) with a co-management agreement in place since 2020. NSR is the country’s largest conservation area and is home to important populations of several threatened species including savannah elephants, lions, and wild dogs. It also encompasses one of the most extensive tracts of intact miombo woodland remaining on the continent and sequesters globally important volumes of carbon.
WCS is delighted to welcome new staff joining the NSR senior management team this month (March 2023) – namely namely John Garnier the new Field Operations Manager, and Manuel Chupicai who is the new Strategic Partnerships Manager. NSR is home to around sixty thousand people, who are crucial to the implementation and success of wildlife and habitat conservation efforts. WCS therefore drew up a Strategic Community Development Plan and recruited three new staff - Tonga Torcida, Eusébio Celestino and Carlos Vilanculos who joined the team in December 2022 to help action it.
John Garnier
Manuel Chupicai
The size and complexity of managing NSR requires considerable skills, a breadth of activities and substantial financial resources. Challenges for the immediate future are the strengthening of ecological monitoring and law enforcement surveillance and the promotion and development of tourism. Nature-based tourism has considerable potential to generate sustainable revenue which can support both community livelihoods and long-term conservation efforts. WCS extends a warm welcome to all the new NSR team members.