Established in 1954 as a Game Reserve, Niassa is the largest conservation area in the country. In 40 villages within the Special Reserve, there are 60 000 inhabitants and the human-wildlife conflict is a challenge. It has an area of 42 000 km2.

The Reserve has the highest concentration of wildlife in Mozambique: 13,000 sables and 800 lions as well as elephants, buffaloes, wild dogs, zebras, elands and wild cows. The area has three endemic species: the Niassa wildebeest, the Böhm’s zebra and the Johnston impala. The more than 500 species of birds recorded include the Taita’s falcon, the African python and the African skimmer.

Biodiversity surveys have revealed a rich ecosystem, and mostly intact ecosystems of miombo forests, mountain forests, rivers, granite inselbergs, wetlands, open savannas and grasslands.