Angola has some of the world’s most iconic ecological and tourism sites on the continent but it is also one of the most dangerous locations because of landmines, which are a legacy of a civil war that ended in 2002.
Among the areas worst affected by the explosives planted during the 27-year conflict are the Cuando Cubango Province’s Mavinga and Luengue-Luiana National Parks, which are important parts of the Kavango Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), the globe’s largest conservation area.
Measuring about 520 000 km2 It spans Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Thanks to a multi-million-dollar landmine clearance exercise, locals need no longer risk life and limb, wildlife can be conserved and tourism and economic development set for a major boost. The government of President João Lourenço is set to invest $60 million in the exercise jointly announced with The Halo Trust, the world’s leading humanitarian mine clearance organisation. Angola’s investment over five years will fund clearance of 153 minefields.
