Nature in Comoros

The Union of the Comoros is a young volcanic archipelago in the western Indian Ocean and the northern Mozambique Channel. Its natural settings range from deep sea and volcanic coastal caves to mountains reaching about 2,360 metres. Karthala is an active volcano with a caldera about three kilometres wide. Other landscapes include humid and cloud forests, highland heath and meadow, volcanic slopes, canyons, waterfalls, coral and volcanic beaches, fringing and barrier reefs, lagoons, mangroves and seagrass beds. Comoros has about 1,000 native vascular plant species, with roughly 30 percent considered endemic, although inventories remain incomplete. Important animals include the coelacanth, Livingstone's fruit bat, the Comorian form of the Seychelles fruit bat, Karthala White-eye, Karthala Screech-Owl, Karthala Flycatcher, Grande Comore Drongo, Blue Pigeon, endemic reptiles, orchids and tree ferns. Green turtles, hawksbill turtles, dugongs, humpback whales and dolphins also occur in Comorian waters. Forest degradation is especially severe on Ndzouani. Other pressures include forest clearance, unsustainable timber use, overfishing, destructive fishing, turtle poaching, coastal sand extraction, habitat fragmentation, invasive species such as rats, cats, mongoose and Lantana camara, and reef sedimentation. The Agence Parcs nationaux des Comores, known as ANAP, works with the Ministry responsible for the environment, island and local authorities, and village communities. The current national network is reported as six parks, with a terrestrial and marine biodiversity area of about 116,577 hectares. It includes Parc National de Mohéli/Mwali, Parc Cœlacanthe, Parc Mitsamiouli-Ndroudé, Parc Karthala, Parc Shisiwani or Shissiwani, and Parc Mont Ntringui. Parc National de Mohéli/Mwali began as a marine protected area in 2001 and expanded terrestrially in 2015; its park page reports 4,404 hectares. The national network and its management capacity are still being consolidated through RNAP2 and related programmes. Ramsar records three wetland sites covering 16,030 hectares. Lake Dziani Boudouni, also called Dziani Boundouni, is a 30-hectare freshwater crater lake and bird habitat registered in 1995. Comoros also has natural areas on the UNESCO Tentative List, including marine ecosystems and terrestrial ecosystems with cultural landscapes; tentative listing is not the same as World Heritage inscription. Protected-area classification follows a Council of Ministers decree after a public inquiry and local or regional consultation. The decree sets boundaries, any buffer zone, the management plan, the managing body, and obligations for affected communities. Management plans should prioritise compatible traditional activities and define duties and possible forms of compensation or support. The legal framework recognises biodiversity and habitats as national and universal heritage, gives citizens a right to a healthy environment, and places a duty on them to safeguard it. Species in Category 1 receive full protection, while Category 2 species receive controlled protection. Forest fires, clearing, deforestation and cultivation outside regulated production sectors are prohibited under the environmental framework. Access varies by site and by activity. Residents, customary users, visitors and researchers remain subject to conservation law, management plans, park rules and local co-management arrangements; there is no blanket assumption of unrestricted free access. Hiking toward the Karthala crater, forest and wildlife observation, turtle nesting and hatchling observation, whale and dolphin watching, and visits to reefs, mangroves and seagrass areas are possible where local conditions permit. ANAP promotes nature-based tourism partly to create community income. Guides, boats, weather, seasonal conditions, safety conditions and site rules can determine whether an activity is available. No reliable national entry fee, central booking system or universal permit schedule has been established, so local costs and permissions must be confirmed before travel. ANAP can be contacted at BP 41 Moroni, +269 75 00 01. Nature in Comoros also faces cyclones and storms, volcanic activity around Karthala, heavy rain, flooding, landslides, drought, irregular rainfall, sea-level rise and coastal erosion. These pressures can damage forests, increase slope erosion, add sediment to reefs, alter wetlands and interrupt access. Detailed emergency and disaster response belongs to the separate disaster subject, while the nature-related consequences remain relevant to conservation and land management. ANAP's environmental awareness, training, community activities, sustainable agriculture guidance, visitor guidance and research cooperation provide the main evidenced education functions; no separate nationwide nature-education pathway has been established.