The host country of this year?s World Environmental Day, Angola, has launched two new national parks spanning across 6.8 million hectares of land with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

According to respondents in Angola, the management strategy for the two new national parks have been developed with support from USAID?s Southern African Regional Environmental Program.  On Monday 29th of August, the department gave the management plans for the two developed national parks Mavinga and Luengue-Luiana in Menongue. This six-year project supports the initiatives of the Southern Africa Development Community to address concerns to biodiversity and the environment within the Okavango River Basin, which cuts across some nations including Angola, and Botswana and also a World Heritage Site - Okavango Delta. The Okavango Delta is very important as it is described to be rich in biodiversity but highly sensitive to the effects of climate change and alternating land use systems. The Delta is significant to countries such as Botswana as natural ecosystem-based tourisms is responsible for 13 per cent of the country?s GDP.

The management plans provided by SAREP will assist to channelize the development of the two parks through the vital first years of the parks.  The effective management of these new parks will secure Angola?s natural resources for the benefit of nearly 12,000 people living within the park?s five main settlements.