Maiombe - Africa's natural wonder

As the second largest forest in the world, only after Amazon (Brazil), Maiombe forest acts as one of the two 'lungs of the world' . At the same time, Maiombe is the largest biodiversity conservation area of ​​the African Continent.

Discover Maiombe - the second largest forest in the world

Maiombe Forest is located in the northern province of Cabinda (Angola), bordering the Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo, extending from Buco Zau (municipality of Inhuca and Necuto) to Belize (municipality of Miconge) and Luali). The area of ​​Maiombe equatorial forest is more than twice that of São Tomé and Principe; covering the territory of both Congo and Gabon Republic, on the southwestern edge of the Congo Tropical Forest; occupies a vast territory of 290 thousand hectares, or 60% of Cabinda province.

Contribute in 7 natural wonders of Angola. In addition to Maiombe Forest, there are 6 other wonders: Khe Tundavala (Huíla Province), Moco Hill (Huambo), Nzenzo Cave (Uíge), Kalandula Waterfall (Malange), Lake Carumbo (North-Lunda), Waterfall at the Chiumbe River (South-Lunda).

You can catch many apes in the forest

Visitors to Maiombe will be overwhelmed by the grandiose scene of an endless green stretching to the horizon, so it is also known as 'Sea of ​​Flora'.

Maiombe is one of the richest equatorial ecosystems in terms of biodiversity with rich wildlife populations and dense vegetation covering the entire territory. The forest possesses countless rare and precious animal and plant species and high quality wood.

The forest reserve is a tourist paradise for nature lovers, with dense vegetation and many shady trees with an admirable height of over 50m, the most prominent being Aniba rosaeodora, Ngulo Mazi etc. . and extremely rare woods such as wood Pau-preto, ebony, African eucalyptus, numbi, takula, banzala, wamba, vuku, limba, kungulo, pau-rosa, tolas branca, chinfuta, lifuma, potassium , kambala, ndola, livuite etc.

Rich vegetation in Maiombe forest.

Maiombe is the 'habitat' of millions of animals. This has made this place a true paradise. The fauna is made up of large wild species such as elephants, rhinos and African cows (Pacaças). There are also gibbons such as orangutans, chimpanzees, Bonobo gibbons, small and lazy monkeys. This is the only place where two of the largest gibbons exist: chimp "Pan Troglodytes" and orangutan "Gorilla Gorilla" . They are highly endangered species that are classified as protected.

Besides, it is necessary to include rodents as well as rare bird species such as African gray parrots and bird's-nest parrots. Landana Swamp will give you the opportunity to admire the wonderful performance of pelicans and flamingos. Especially famous here you can also meet butterflies that do not exist anywhere else in the world, hundreds of species of scaly bugs will also make you enjoy. Museums in London, Tokyo, etc. exhibit butterfly patterns of Maiombe forest.

Maiombe forest with majestic landscapes has been brought by artists to poetry, stories, and national literature.

Maiombe Conservation Area has high tourism potential and become one of the most attractive tourist destinations of Cabinda province as well as a significant part in socio-economic development, an important area to close. the role of Angola's green economy.

The majestic scene of Maiombe forest.

Maiombe forest has been degenerating for decades due to the lack of natural resource management and proper protection. The lives of most communities in Maiombe Forest depend largely on small-scale agriculture and livestock. They cut trees indiscriminately and catch fish, hunting illegally to survive. Maiombe forest and animal population here are also at risk of being threatened by natural hazards such as forest fires or human hazards such as illegal logging, deforestation.

The most recent survey carried out in the Maiombe Forest was in 1964. Therefore, it is difficult to give exact damage rates in the flora and fauna populations at the present time. But there is an obvious fact that the trafficking of animals is increasing, damaging rare species like African chimpanzees, chimpanzees and macaw in this forest.

Moco Hill.

During the colonial period from 1648 to 1974, the forest was indiscriminately exploited. Data from the Forest Development Institute - IDF indicates that Maiombe forest has provided approximately 285,000 cubic meters of indigenous timber to the market and more than 50% of wood production nationwide. Forest resources are the second source of income for Cabinda province, just after crude oil. Maiombe's biodiversity has great values ​​not only for indigenous inhabitants but also for the environment on the whole earth in both present and future.

At the end of 2013, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo met to establish a series of 'Transnational Actions' , including the contents: Conservation of the Maiombe Forest. The strategic plan has a 10-year term and includes projects to promote conservation and sustainable management of the ecosystem and atmosphere of Maiombe; harmonizing biodiversity and cultural conservation activities with socio-economic development activities.

Tundavala slot.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) have teamed up to build a Transboundary Conservation Area in Maiombe (Angola), Congo- Brazaville, Congo-Kinshasa aims to maintain and restore the integrity of the Maiombe ecosystem to preserve biodiversity and to strengthen regional stability and improve human life.