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History of Coutada 9 » The Dark Years (1973 - 1997)

During the civil unrest (1977-1992) there was total disregard for the wildlife regulations. Mozambique’s National Parks and the Coutadas were open to a free for all hunting. An overview of the situation is provided by Hatton et al. (2001). The situation was particularly exasperated in areas where troops were stationed for protracted periods. RENAMO’s strong hold and headquarters was Mount Gorongosa, a natural fortress which proved extremely difficult for the Government FRELIMO forces to overrun. This led to Gorongosa National Park and several coutadas, including 9, situated near the mountain to feel the effects of the extended sieges carried out. Troops, from both sides were stationed in the wilderness areas and they hunted the wildlife for sustenance and for trophies to fund their war efforts. There are reports of Zimbabwean and South African armies (supporting FRELIMO and RENAMO respectively) hunting large quantities of wildlife out of Gorongosa National Park. There are also reports of mass shooting of buffalo (40,000) and hippo (5,000) out of both Gorongosa National Park and the Zambezi Delta by Russian helicopter crews to supply large factory ships based offshore making canned meat. Furthermore, during and immediately after the civil war, large numbers of people moved into the previously protected wildlife areas in Mozambique, providing open access to wildlife resources. Bushmeat became a valuable protein source in a country devoid of any commercial agricultural sector with little meat available from livestock.

Following signing of the 1992 peace accord, the free for all hunting continued on a large scale, supplying the thriving demand for bushmeat. The cessation of the war meant improvements to security along the road and rail network and a greater connectivity between the conservation areas and urban commercial markets for bushmeat. It was estimated that 30-60 tons of meat per month was extracted from Gorongosa National Park during 1994. While illegal the practice was exasperated by the lack of enforcement by government and traditional authorities. As a result of excessive off-takes the wildlife populations in most protected areas were severely depleted. In Gorongosa National Park, Elephant populations declined from 3,000 animals in 1979 to 4 in 1993, the Buffalo population went from 18,000 to 0 and the Hippopotamus population went from 4,800 to 0 in the same time frame. Similarly, in the Zambezi Delta complex, Elephant went from 331 animals in 1977 to 0 in 1994, the Buffalo from an estimated 45,000 to 2,346 in the same period. The National Parks have better historical records but the same trends were carried out in all the conservation areas, including Coutada 9.

To further exasperate the situation, the region was subjected to a massive drought between the years of 1992-1995. The local villagers in the area tell of how there was no significant rainfall for an 18-month period and the remaining animals died in their hundreds, even scavengers like jackal and hyena after the initial feast, died. This drought was also experienced in neighboring Zimbabwe were similar situations occurred, especially in the Southeast of the country where huge wildlife die-off was also recorder. In Zimbabwe, restocking projects where carried out with animals re-introduced from less affected areas in the country and today the effects of the drought are not noticeable. This was never done in Mozambique and the few survivors were further subjected to relentless poaching. However, wildlife populations are very resilient and given the opportunity through the provision of suitable habitat and protection they can repopulate an area. Key to this is the size of the initial breeding population, following a typical sigma curve the larger the initial population the quicker this happens. The buffalo populations in the Zambezi Delta complex as an example have increase from the 2,346 of 1994 to 18 000 in 2013 to now over 25 000 animals estimated in the most recent aerial survey conducted. Waterbuck in Gorongosa National Park have increased from 129 in 1994, 500 in 2000, in excess of 17,000 in 2013 while the latest figures estimate a population of 55 000 animals.