Mozambique protects Mount Mabu butterfly forest with new decree
Mozambique officials established a new conservation area covering twenty three thousand acres on Mount Mabu to safeguard unique butterfly habitats.
This wet region holds over two hundred butterfly species that live nowhere else on the entire African continent today. Researchers have discovered many new species there during their long work spanning more than two decades now.
Sir David Attenborough called this location the butterfly forest back in 2013 when he presented it for the BBC television program. The local mountains contain high rates of endemism meaning many species exist only within this specific isolated mountain chain.
Julian Bayliss noted this might be the largest unbroken stretch of medium height woodland found in southern Africa recently. He pondered what could protect its natural riches before the government finally issued the official decree last month.
Mozambique faces challenges because past civil wars and unchecked poaching removed wildlife from many national parks and wild places previously. Now the nation is rebuilding populations but protecting existing areas is better than trying to restore them later.