Location: 70 km South of Luanda Map
Area: 9,960 km²
Iona National Park (Parque Nacional do Iona), established in 1937 as a reserve and upgraded to a national park in 1964, is Angola's largest and oldest protected area, spanning 15,150 square kilometers in the southwestern corner of Namibe Province. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, with the Curoca River marking its northern boundary and the Cunene River its southern limit, extending about 200 kilometers south of the city of Namibe. The park forms part of the northern Namib Desert, also known as the Kaokoveld Desert, one of the world's oldest deserts at 55-80 million years old, and is contiguous with Namibia's Skeleton Coast National Park and Namib-Naukluft National Park, creating a vast transfrontier conservation area of approximately 50,000 square kilometers. Managed since 2019 by African Parks in partnership with the Angolan government, Iona has been recovering from decades of conflict during the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002), which led to severe poaching, infrastructure destruction, and biodiversity loss. Today, it employs around 135 staff and focuses on rehabilitation, community engagement, and ecotourism to promote sustainable development while preserving its unique desert and coastal ecosystems.
Iona National Park features a dramatic landscape
shaped by the Namib Desert's arid conditions, with a 180-kilometer
coastline along the Atlantic Ocean influenced by the cold Benguela
Current, which generates heavy fogs and supports offshore ecosystems.
The topography includes shifting sand dunes, vast gravel plains, rugged
mountains such as Serra Tchamalindi and Cafema rising over 2,000 meters
at the base of the Great Escarpment, and ephemeral riverbeds like the
Curoca and perennial flows in the Cunene River, which forms marshy
wetlands at its mouth. Climate is classified as hot desert (BWh under
Köppen), with rainfall gradients from near 0 millimeters annually on the
hyper-arid coast to up to 450 millimeters in semi-arid eastern
mountains, mostly during a single wet quarter. Fog from the Benguela
Current provides crucial moisture, creating "linear oases" along rivers
and supporting diverse habitats.
Ecosystems span two WWF ecoregions:
the Kaokoveld Desert and Namib Escarpment Woodlands, recognized for
global biological distinctiveness, including sub-coastal steppes,
coastal steppes, and moving dune deserts. Key zones include the
hyper-arid Namib Desert with dunes and gravel plains; the Pro-Namib
transition with shrublands and rocky outcrops; Mopane shrublands in
higher-rainfall areas; riverine vegetation along the Kunene and
ephemeral rivers like Hoarusib and Nadas; and Afromontane savannas on
mountaintops above 1,500 meters. Coastal dune hummocks, formed around
pioneer plants, are sensitive habitats hosting endemic species, while
water sources like perennial springs, boreholes, and fog sustain life in
this arid environment. Recent Earth observation studies using Landsat
and Sentinel data reveal a west-to-east gradient from coastal dunes to
plains, grasslands, Vachellia shrublands, and Mopane shrublands, with
increases in bare dunes and gravel plains and decreases in vegetated
areas from 1990 to 2023, indicating declining landscape diversity.
The park's flora reflects its position in the Kaokoveld Centre of Endemism, with 234 indigenous woody species, 32 of which are endemic (14 percent), spanning Karoo-Namib, Zambezian, and Kalahari-Highveld floristic regions. Dominant vegetation types include sub-coastal steppes with Acacia, Commiphora, Colophospermum, Aristida, Schmidtia, and Stipagrostis species; coastal steppes with sub-desert plants like Aristida, Cissus, Salvadora, and Welwitschia; and desert dunes with Odyssea and Sporobolus grasses. Flagship species include the iconic Welwitschia mirabilis, a "living fossil" over 100 million years old that absorbs fog moisture, with populations geographically and genetically separated, some individuals exceeding 1,000 years. Other notables are Lithops ruschiorum (stone plant with horticultural value), Adenia pechuelii (elephant's foot), Cyphostemma species, Sterculia quinqueloba (white-stem tree), baobab (Adansonia digitata), Pachypodium lealii, Euphorbia eduardoi (Kaoko tree euphorbia), nara (Acanthosicyos horridus), Boscia microphylla, and recent discoveries like Crassothonna agaatbergensis and Euphorbia rimireptans. Climate-sensitive indicators include Portulacaria longipenduculata, Euphorbia otjingandu, and Sesamothamnus leistneri, showing drought distress. Riverine areas feature dense riparian woodlands, while Mopane shrublands are dominated by Colophospermum mopane, and coastal hummocks host pioneer species like Tetraena stapffii (dollar bush) and Arthraerua leubnitziae (pencil bush). Vegetation changes from 1990 to 2023 show increases in Vachellia and Mopane shrublands but declines in vegetated dunes and marshes, linked to drought and human pressures.
Iona's fauna is adapted to arid conditions, with high endemism, particularly among reptiles and insects. Mammals include viable populations of gemsbok (oryx gazella, around 1,650 individuals), springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis, about 2,400), Hartmann's mountain zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae, 265 adults with threats from hybridization creating "zonkeys"), greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), black-faced impala (Aepyceros melampus petersi), and recently reintroduced Angolan giraffe (Giraffa giraffa angolensis, 14 individuals in 2023, with plans for more). Carnivores feature South African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus, density 0.61 per 100 square kilometers), leopard (Panthera pardus), brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea), black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas), caracal, aardwolf, and chacma baboon. Marine mammals include Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus, over 15,000 at Baia dos Tigres) and dolphins like Tursiops truncatus and Cephalorhynchus heavisidii. Avifauna totals around 250 species, with 114 recorded in 2001 (58 waterbirds) and recent surveys noting 55,000 Cape cormorants; the Cunene River mouth is a key wetland for migrants like greater flamingos, pelicans, and ostriches (about 400 individuals). Reptiles and amphibians number 75 species (40 new records in 2022), with 63 reptiles in the ecoregion including eight endemics (two lizards, three geckos, three skinks); the Kunene hosts Nile soft-shelled turtles, marine green turtles, and crocodiles. Insects exceed 8,064 species (121 endemic, 94 threatened), with coastal beetles like Onymacris marginipennis and Onychosis gracilipes; at least five endemic fish species occur in the Kunene. Microbial diversity includes over 35 bacterial phyla (e.g., Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria) and fungal communities dominated by Ascomycota and Basidiomycota in hyper-arid soils. Historical species like black rhino, elephant, and lion were eradicated during the war, but reintroduction feasibility is under study.
As part of the Iona-Skeleton Coast Transfrontier
Conservation Area established in 2018, one of Africa's largest, Iona is
an Important Bird Area and lies within the Karoo-Namib center of
endemism, with efforts focused on integrated ecosystem management.
Conservation strategies include wildlife reintroductions (e.g., giraffes
in 2023), habitat mapping, aerial surveys, camera traps, telemetry, and
community-based monitoring with 21 trained para-ecologists using tools
like EpiCollect and WAR apps. Infrastructure rehabilitation, such as
staff housing, roads, and sustainable water/waste systems, supports
operations, alongside national efforts to strengthen the Instituto
Nacional de Biodiversidade e Áreas de Conservação. Cross-border
collaboration with Namibia addresses marine areas like the Namibe
Ecologically and Biologically Significant Marine Area, restricting
resource extraction. Earth observation data aids in land cover
classification (92-94% accuracy) and landscape metrics, informing land
use plans for restoration and grazing.
Threats include poaching,
overgrazing by livestock (estimated 14,000 cattle, 27,500 goats in
2003), deforestation for fuel, illegal settlements (population grew from
300 in 1974 to 3,500 in 2011), human-wildlife conflict (e.g., livestock
predation by cheetahs, crocodiles causing losses), invasive species like
Nicotiana glauca and Ricinus communis along rivers, habitat
fragmentation, and unregulated access via roads. Climate change
exacerbates issues with rising temperatures, variable rainfall, and
uncertain fog impacts, leading to land degradation (e.g., perennial
grasses replaced by annuals) and biodiversity loss, as seen in a 2014
drought causing 22% wildlife and 91% livestock declines. Potential
hydropower on the Kunene River threatens riparian ecosystems.
Proclaimed a reserve in 1937 under colonial regulations to preserve fauna and support tourism/hunting, Iona became a national park in 1964 via Decree No.43/77, emphasizing protection of wildlife and vegetation. The Angolan Civil War led to abandonment from the 1970s, with destruction of infrastructure and extirpation of species like elephants and rhinos. Rehabilitation began around 2009 with government and international projects, including a 2003 Memorandum of Understanding with Namibia for the transfrontier area. The SCIONA project (2018-2021) strengthened cross-border management, while African Parks' 2019 agreement has driven recovery, including giraffe reintroductions and community training. Recent studies, like a 2024 NASA report, use satellite data to track changes since 1990.
Semi-nomadic pastoralist communities, including Himba, Herero, Muhimba, Mucubal, Mucahona, and Ovahimba (population about 3,500), engage in subsistence agriculture, livestock herding, and resource use, facing challenges like water scarcity (average household income $155) and conflicts over land for grazing. Conservation integrates community participation through participatory mapping, wildlife monitoring training, and alternative livelihoods like employment in the park (>10 direct jobs targeted) to reduce pressures. Tourism is emerging, with activities including coastal drives from Ponto Albino Gate through dunes and marshes, wildlife viewing (oryx, seals, flamingos), exploring shipwrecks and historical sites like abandoned sardine factories, birdwatching, and camping under star-filled skies. Guided by park staff, visitors navigate challenging terrains, observe whale migrations, and reflect on the park's resilience, with potential for sustainable growth balancing conservation and local benefits.