TERRITORIAL OVERLAY: TOTAL CONSERVATION AREA AND COMMUNITY LAND IN SERRA DA GORONGOSA IN MOZAMBIQUE

Abstract

The Serra de Gorongosa is total a Conservation Area, created by the Government of Mozambique, through the Ministerial Decree n° 78/2010 of December 31, with the purpose of expanding the boundaries of the Gorongosa National Park and ensuring Geo-conservation. The creation of the total Conservation Area on the land occupied, for centuries, by the communities of Canda, Murombodzi, Nhambirira and Nhancuco, private properties of small farmers, areas holding miming prospecting licenses and forest concession, bring to spotlight, the discussion about territorial overlaps in the Gorongosa Mountain range. The research intends, therefore, to contribute to the debate on territorial overlaps of conservation areas on community lands, aiming to bring a reflection with regard to the relationship between nature and society, through the territory. Our contribution results from the methodological combination of literature review and fieldwork, which allowed us to conclude that, in Mozambique, the debate on territorial overlap of Conservation Areas on community lands is incipient and far from finding consensus