Mozambique has received global acclaim for setting aside the Maputo National Park as the Country’s second World Heritage Site, further strengthening its commitment to conserving a large area of its Southern Coastline for future generations. The decision was announced in Paris on 13 July 2025 at a meeting of theUNESCO World Heritage Committee, which oversees the protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage Sites, deemed to be of “Outstanding Universal Value!”.
The new 1540 square kilometers, Maputo Heritage park forms an extension of South Africa’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park, enlarging the total area of this transboundary world heritage site to almost 4,000 Square Kilometers. It was one of seven new global Heritage Sites confirmed at the 47th World Heritage Committee meeting in the French Capital at the weekend. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has described this extended park as “one of the most outstanding coastal wetlands in Africa”, an area renowned for its scenic Beaches, Wildlife and Wetland Areas. The park includes: 'the former Maputo Elephant Reserve, Inhaca Island and theMachangulo Peninsula and a stretch of Ocean from Inhaca to Ponta do Ouro'.