Cameia – The minister of the Environment, Ana Paula de Carvalho, reiterated Thursday, in the municipality of Cameia, eastern Moxico Province, the government's commitment to the protection of fauna and flora countrywide.
The minister was speaking within the framework of a working visit that she has been making to the Cameia National Park, which is 102 kilometers off the capital, Luena.
At the time, she announced that for a medium term the only vegetal reserve of Moxico will receive 44 inspectors to preserve wildlife.
According to her, there is a high number of park inspectors who are being trained in the northern Malanje Province and they will be distributed in different national parks aiming for the protection of wildlife in the country.
Regarding the Cameia National Park, she said that firstly there will e the construction of infrastructures where the park administration will operate, while waiting for the larger project for the building of accommodation facilities and complete supervision.
Ana Paula de Carvalho said that the Environment Ministry has a plan to reopen the parks so that it can be more attractive to generate income for the country's economy through the promotion of tourism, adding that soon an international tender for the management of the Cameia National Park will be anounced.
The governor of the Moxico Province, Ernesto Muangala, informed that with the placing of the inspectors in the only park in the province which is inoperative for 25 years, he hopes to invest in promoting national tourism as other touristic points of the region such as the Dilolo lagoon in the Luacano municipality.
Mr. João Antonio, responsible for the national park, believes that with the creation of conditions inspection will be reinforced and in this way it will be possible to verify the return of animals such as wildebeest, roan antelope, kobus leche, southern reedbuck, lion, spotted hyena, leopard, cheetah and elephants that fled due to the presence of hunters and fishermen in the fishermen, as well as the practice of burning.
The Cameia National Park has an area of 14,450 square kilometers and it is extended to the municipalities of Luacano with 6.540, 23 square kilometers and Alto Zambeze with 1,304,20 square kilometers.
It was created in 1935 as a hunting reserve and elevated to park status in 1957. The park once had four administrative posts in Chiesso, Cassai, Caifutchi and Rio Nharicumbe.
The country currently has eight National Parks and seven nature reserves covering an area of 82,000 square kilometers (6.6 percent of the national territory).
These are the national parks of Quiçama (Luanda), Cangandala (Malanje), where the Sanctuary of the Giant Sable Antelope is located, Bicuar (Huíla), Iona (Namibe), Cameia (Moxico), Mupa (Cunene), Mavinga and Luengue - Luiana (Cuando Cubango).
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