When it emerged from a civil war in 1992, not many people would have imagined that Mozambique would soon become a global leader in conservation. WWF was a part of this transition, helping the government and local communities to establish Quirimbas National Park in 2002. Now WWF is partnering with communities there to protect biodiversity and improve local standards of living. Encompassing both terrestrial and marine habitats, Quirimbas conserves an area where there is heavy pressure on natural resources. The park, currently the largest marine protected area in the Indian Ocean, also boosts prospects for developing sustainable livelihoods such as nature-based tourism.

© Tanya Petersen/WWF-Canon Local fishermen drying fish. Quirimbas, Mozambique

Quirimbas National Park's creation was called for by local communities to help address serious conflicts with wildlife. In this area 55,000 people live in close proximity with healthy wildlife populations, including elephants. The results were sometimes tragic, with both human and elephant fatalities. Before the establishment of the park, communities also faced food shortages due to wildlife-related crop damage.

Local communities were also concerned about threats to the marine environment. Fishermen from outside the region were overfishing local waters, and destructive methods including poisoning were being used. In this relatively isolated and impoverished area, fish resources are crucial to support local livelihoods and food security.

© PJ Stevenson/WWF-Canon WWF's Peter Bechtel training wildlife scouts in the use of chili bombs as an elephant deterrent. When the mix of elephant dung and chili peppers is set alight it makes an acrid smoke that scares elephants away from farmers' fields.

One example of WWF's work with Quirimbas' communities is a large-scale co-management plan to protect fish breeding grounds and allow local artisanal fishing. Groups like Community Fishing Councils plan and establish fish sanctuaries and control access to fishing zones - keeping out industrial trawlers that literally "vacuum" the oceans. As a result, the marine protected areas produce more and bigger fish, provide much-needed income and food for locals, and form the basis for sustainable fisheries.

On land, local communities asked WWF for a solution to human-elephant conflict that eliminates physical confrontation, protects agricultural fields and saves lives. The number of elephants and subsistence farmers being killed from the conflict over planted food has dramatically decreased due to an innovative, but cheap and simple, "chili bomb" defense system introduced by WWF. With improved conditions, farmers have full harvests for the first time of corn, vegetables and beans. The bloated bellies of young children, caused by malnutrition but in many places thought to be a normal stage of development, are disappearing.

Quirimbas National Park is in Cabo Delgado province, which was once the most isolated and poorest area in Mozambique. It now has the country's highest growth rate, with incomes that have tripled over the last three years.