Great Limpopo
Transfrontier Conservation Area
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Great Limpopo
The GLTFCA, spanning across Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, is a vast landscape aimed at conserving biodiversity while promoting socio-economic development through nature-based solutions.
The implementation of Herding for Health (H4H) in this landscape is crucial, as it helps manage livestock movements, mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, and promote sustainable land use practices. H4H supports rangeland restoration and enhances livelihoods, contributing to the ecological connectivity and resilience of this critical transboundary region. Three H4H sites have been established in Mozambique and South Africa. In South Africa, Conservation South Africa (an affiliate member of the Conservation International network) implements H4H in the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve. In Mozambique, Peace Parks Foundation is implementing H4H in and around Limpopo National Park and Banhine National Park.
Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Reduced poverty, increased job security, community climate resilience, improved ecological connectivity within the GLTFCA landscape, improved markets, thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, greater involvement of women in decision-making
Combined herding (in Mozambique), planned grazing, veterinary support, training and skills enhancement in governance, herding, primary animal health care, access to markets
637, 000 hectares
281, 254 hectares
661 jobs created
10, 915 beneficiaries
268 ,123 tons of CO2/annum sequestered
Limpopo National Park is part of the GLTFCA and plays a key role in biodiversity conservation and wildlife migration. However, local communities living in and around the park are faced with livestock-wildlife conflicts and overgrazing, resulting in land degradation. Implementing H4H is essential to address the needs of both wildlife and pastoral communities. H4H supports sustainable grazing practices, promotes ecosystem restoration, and improves the health of both livestock and rangelands, ensuring the sustainability of the park's natural resources.
Banhine National Park is a semi-arid area crucial for wetland conservation and biodiversity. The Park is pivotal for enabling wildlife movement between three other national parks in the landscape. However, unsustainable land use practices, the degradation of rangelands and water scarcity threaten this ecosystem. H4H supports transformation in this landscape by providing controlled grazing and movement of livestock in the landscape, as well as rangeland rehabilitation strategies. These efforts improve soil health, reduce land degradation, and support community resilience through sustainable livestock farming, which aligns with the conservation goals of the Park.
The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve, spanning from the Kruger National Park to the Blyde River Canyon, is a UNESCO-designated site that balances conservation and human development. Implementing H4H in this biosphere is pivotal for managing rangeland degradation and promoting regenerative grazing practices, while supporting critical ecosystems that are under threat from development and sand mining. H4H not only fosters biodiversity conservation but also addresses local socio-economic challenges by improving markets in an area that is prone to Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks. H4H also supports the resilience of pastoral communities within this biodiverse and culturally rich landscape.
Herding 4 Health in Limpopo National Park
Regeneration of rangelands to improve soil and vegetation health is a climate-change mitigation tool that is rapidly gaining credibility and acceptance worldwide.
Herding for Health connects community farmers with markets
Farmers participating in the Herding for Health programme in Massingir in the Gaza province bordering the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, no longer lose cattle to predation.
Herding for Health celebrates five years in Limpopo National Park
This August, Conservation International and Peace Parks Foundation celebrate five years of Herding for Health in Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park (LNP).
People, Livestock and Conservation
Herding 4 Health is a community development activity that promotes conservation outcomes while supporting people living in rural areas to find their way out of extreme poverty.