Africa's first transnational marine conservation area was created by South Africa and Mozambique to protect a two hundred mile length of shoreline and beaches on the continent's southeast coast from Maputo Bay in Mozambique to Cape St. Lucia in South Africa. The area contains important fish breeding grounds in southern Mozambique as well as egg laying beaches for threatened leatherback and loggerhead marine turtles. iSimangaliso Wetlands Park in South Africa is now connected to the conservation area and protects the country's remaining swamp forests in Africa's largest estuarine system. The 332,000 hectare park is home to 526 bird species, 25,000 year old coastal dunes that are among the highest in the world, and three major lake systems. Plans are to further protect the sensitive area by creating Africa's first trans-boundary marine World Heritage Site according to ENS. GREEN KUDOS to South Africa and Mozambique[photo credit: Ponta do Ouro Protected Area, Mozambique, ENS]