Reconnecting forests in Chimanimani National Park

In Chimanimani, buffer zone communities are mobilizing for restored forests, and you can help.

Background

Mozambique's Chimanimani National Park anchors one of southern Africa's most ecologically rich landscapes, a mosaic of Afromontane and miombo forest that shelters endemic biodiversity, feeds the rivers, and serves as a critical corridor for elephant movement between the Park and surrounding areas. This area is stewarded by Chimanimani National Park in partnership with 15 communities whose culture and daily life are deeply embedded in the landscape. From sacred sites to traditional medicine, the forests of Chimanimani are representative of the rich natural heritage in Mozambique.

Chimanimani National Park’s buffer zone protects the endemic biodiversity in the core zone of the Park, pictured above.

The core zone of the park is protected by an extensive buffer zone, in which communities and the Park balance sustainable use and space for forests and wildlife. According to Global Forest Watch, the park's buffer zone has lost an estimated 47,000 hectares, or 34%,  of its tree cover to uncontrolled fires, shifting agriculture, and charcoal production between 2001-2025. Without this buffer, the Park’s core zone is at risk from drivers of deforestation in the wider landscape.

Read more about the importance of the Chimanimani landscape here.

Taking action toward the vision

Eden has a large vision here: to build on ongoing community land use planning work, partnering with the Park and the many communities in the buffer zone to designate areas to restore forests and create regenerative livelihood opportunities that allow this landscape to sustain life and culture for generations to come. 

Today, the vision starts in Gotogoto, a community that lives in a critical ecological corridor between communities within the Park’s buffer zone. In partnership with Eden and Chimanimani National Park, Gotogoto is working to protect and restore forests through participatory land use planning, tree planting, and forest protection.

With your support for our ongoing restoration efforts, by the end of 2027 we hope to:

• Restore 50 hectares of degraded miombo forest through direct planting and assisted natural regeneration.
• Plant 20,000 native miombo seedlings across approximately 20 hectares of degraded land.
• Manage 30 hectares through FMNR, a proven low-cost technique that accelerates natural forest recovery.
• Rehabilitate and equip 1 community nursery, strengthening Gotogoto's long-term capacity for restoration.
• Establish 4 agroforestry demonstration plots to support sustainable livelihoods alongside forest recovery.
• Remove invasive species in restoration sites.
• Train 40 community members, prioritising women, youth, and marginalised groups to  increase technical capacity in nursery management, restoration techniques, and fire prevention.
• Create meaningful employment and income opportunities that reduce pressure on the forest.

Click here to see Eden’s work featured on BBC Africa.

(above) Tree nurseries in rural areas are community hubs, where restoration education employment, training, and even access to water can improve livelihood opportunities.

How we mobilize communities for restoration in Chimanimani

Eden’s restoration work in Chimanimani builds on ongoing community land use planning work in which communities designate areas for forest, farming, and homesteads. Building on processes that have been developed through other partners in the landscape, Eden aims to work with communities to also designate areas for restoration and regenerative agriculture/agroforestry. Once designated, Eden works with communities to build and implement restoration plans.

(above) Eden works with communities in the Chimanimani buffer zone to collect and process seeds of indigenous tree species to grow in nurseries. When these trees are ready, they are planted in degraded areas.

Our progress in Chimanimani

Associação Eden Reforestation has operated in Mozambique since 2018, building one of the country's most experienced forest restoration teams. In 2021, Eden began partnering with communities and local government institutions in Sussundenga District to protect and restore miombo woodland in the broader Chimanimani landscape. Since that time, Eden has planted over 1.5 million trees in this landscape.

Donate today to join us on this restoration journey. Let’s get to work!