Inhambane Seascape Hope Spot Welcomes New Co-Champion

May 28, 2025

Cover image: Diving in the Bazaruto Seascape © Andrea Marshall

[Inhambane, Mozambique] –Mission Blue is pleased to welcome Rui Branco as the new Co-Champion of the Inhambane Seascape Hope Spot in southern Mozambique. Rui Branco, founding member and Director of Associação NATURA and co-founder of the Malamba Coastal Collaborative and a Mozambique native, brings over 20 years of experience in biodiversity protection, community rights advocacy, and sustainable development. Branco is dedicated to fostering collaboration with local communities, strengthening governance, and supporting sustainable natural resource use. 

The Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) will continue as co-Champion, with Chief Operating Officer Sarah Butchers stepping in to continue the fantastic work of MMF co-founder Andrea Marshall, who remains on medical leave. Sarah Butchers is based in Tofo, Mozambique, where she manages MMF’s main office, as well as overseeing the organization’s global finances and operations.

“The Inhambane Seascape is an extraordinary and ecologically rich marine and coastal region, home to critical ecosystems including seagrass beds, coral reefs, mangroves, unique coastal Miombo forests, and both freshwater and saltwater lakes. This vibrant seascape supports several endangered marine megafauna species and plays a vital role in the health of our oceans on both a national and international scale,” shares Hope Spot Champion Rui Branco. He continues, “Beyond its ecological significance, thousands of local community members depend on these ecosystems for their survival. Today, more than ever, urgent action is needed to safeguard this seascape from imminent threats posed by extractive industries, including heavy sands mining and oil and gas exploration”.

Launched as a Mission Blue Hope Spot in 2022, The Inhambane Seascape Hope Spot is internationally recognized for its rich biodiversity and has been identified by the IUCN as a Globally Outstanding marine conservation area, with UNESCO acknowledging it as a potential world heritage site. Looking forwards, co-Champions Rui Branco and the Marine Megafauna Foundation aim to advance the ongoing spatial planning efforts in the region to develop a network of marine protected areas.

“What makes the Inhambane Seascape truly special isn’t just its extraordinary marine life—it’s the intricate connection between these waters and the communities who depend on them. As we continue MMF’s crucial work alongside Rui, our focus remains on developing solutions that protect both nature and livelihoods. This Hope Spot embodies our vision that effective conservation must safeguard marine ecosystems while empowering the communities whose futures are tied to these waters. When scientific research meets local knowledge and collaborative governance, truly remarkable and lasting conservation becomes possible,” shares Sarah Butchers.

Rui Branco shares further goals for the region, looking forwards to working in collaboration with local organizations. “Together with the Marine Megafauna Foundation and an alliance of dedicated organizations deeply rooted in the seascape, we are working to support local communities in establishing effective conservation programs that not only protect these ecosystems but also help lift communities out of extreme poverty. Large-scale support is critical at this moment to ensure the long-term protection of these pristine marine habitats and the species that depend on them,” he states. 

Explore more about the Inhambane Seascape through the Hope Spot Story Map here.

About Associação NATURA 

Founded in 2008, NATURA is a Mozambican non-governmental organization committed to advancing environmental preservation in its broadest sense. Our work spans marine and terrestrial ecosystem preservation, scientific research, environmental education, sanitation, and human development. Our vision is “To leave a sustainable world for future generations”.

About Malamba Coastal Collaborative (MCC)

Malamba Coastal Collaborative (MCC) is a partnership with and between indigenous communities and stakeholders dependent on the ecological integrity of marine and coastal habitats in Inhambane, Mozambique. Our community field station is now an emerging hub for environmental protection & education, and sustainable forest- and ocean-based livelihoods centered on a remote, and critical coastal corridor that links Bazaruto National Park to the north and Pomene National Reserve to the south.

MCC is based full-time in this sector of the Seascape. Our field station is based on a 100ha coastal Miombo forest sanctuary alongside communities in the core of the Inhambane Center of Endemism, and a designated Potential Key Biodiversity Area and a “Mission Blue Hope Spot.” The world-renowned Baixo Zambia-Africa reef-systems lies just offshore. We know that communities here are by far the keystone to effective and sustainable conservation, and already the champions of this ecosystem for many generations. And as we strive together for innovative and scalable solutions that shift the boundaries on how conservation is practiced in Mozambique, we strongly believe that the key to effective, long-term environmental protection is growing community power and strengthening local governance.

About Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF)

The Marine Megafauna Foundation was created in 2009 to research, protect, and conserve populations of threatened marine megafauna around the world. ‘Megafauna’ are large iconic marine species such as sharks, rays, and sea turtles. MMF is a 501c3 not for profit organization in the United States. In Africa they are headquartered in Tofo Beach, Mozambique, where they operate as Associação Megafauna Marinha (AMM). For more details on MMF please visit www.marinemegafauna.org, or learn more about their Mozambican projects here.