10 June 2011: The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) has reported that the Government of Mozambique has designated Lake Niassa and its Coastal Zone (Lago Niassa e Zona Costeira) as its second Wetland of International Importance.

Lake Niassa is part of Africa’s third-largest lake – the other two parts being in Malawi and in Tanzania – and also part of the Miombo Woodlands ecoregion. Some of the site’s features include: the high levels of fish species that are endemic to the lake; its support of threatened populations of leopard, sable antelope, and elephants; and the fact that it lies within flyways of migratory birds that use the lake margins as staging areas between Africa and Europe. [Ramsar Press Release]