Gilé National Park (GNAP) is a Mozambican Park located in the north-eastern part of Zambezia Province. It covers an area of 2,861 km2 with a buffer zone of 1529 km2. It is comprised between 16° 14’ 45” and 16° 50’ 30’’ South and between 38° 05’ 38’’ and 38° 48° 45’’ East, between Pebane, the second largest district in the Province (10,087 km2) and Gilé, the fourth largest district (9,526 km2). The administrative headquarters are Musseia, located in the South-East corner of the Park.
A bit of history
The Partial Game Reserve of Gilé was first established in 1932 as a partial hunting reserve. In 1960 the original limits were modified to the actual ones. Gilé National Reserve received the status of national reserve (IUCN Cat. IV) in 1999 (Lei 10/99 de Floresta e Fauna Bravia). Finally, Gilé National Park (GNAP) received the status of national park (IUCN Cat. II) in 2020 (Decreto n°44/2020 de 17 de Junho).Between 2001 and the end of 2014, GNAP, as all other protected areas in Mozambique, was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Tourism. During this period, the official buffer zone of GNAP was established (November 2011) and the Coutada Oficial de Mulela was declared (August 2013). Between 2015 and the end of 2019 GNAP, as all other protected areas in Mozambique, was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development and since the beginning of 2020 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land and Environment. Currently, the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) is responsible for the management and development of protected areas in the country.
FFS, IGF and GNAP
Since 2007, GNAP has received the support of the François Sommer Foundation/International Foundation for Wildlife Management (FFS-IGF) through a Technical and Financial Support Agreement signed with the Government of Mozambique to implement the Programme and the Development and Management of GNAP. The agreement between FFS-IGF and ANAC was renewed in November 2018 for a period of 5 years. Within the framework of this agreement, the Programme is managed, at GNAP level, by a Park Management Unit, supported by a Supervision Committee composed by ANAC and FFS-IGF members.
