Angola does not have Marine Protected Areas at this time [1]. However, according to the GEF (Global Environment Facility), there are current efforts to establish Angola's first Marine Protected Areas. Please see the GEF PIF (Project Idenitfication Form) for a detailed description of Angola's plans to establish it's first MPAs. Decreasing oil prices, an interterst in increasing tourism and international obligations under the CBD and CITES have strengthened political will to establish protection of marine habitats. 

[1] The Global Environment Facility (2017) Creation of Angola's First Marine Protected Area: https://www.thegef.org/project/creation-marine-protected-areas-angola

General information about marine ecosystems in Angola (Source: GEF PIF 2017)

Angola has one of the highest ecosystem diversities in Africa and immense biodiversity in terms of aquatic ecosystems (including inland, marine and coastal waters). The productive waters of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) span some 30 degrees of latitude, extending from Angola’s Cabinda Province in the north to just east of Port Elizabeth in South Africa. It is one of the world’s major eastern-boundary current systems, and is rich in pelagic and demersal fish populations, supported by plankton production driven by intense coastal upwelling. It is one of the world’s most important cold marine ecosystems and supports an abundance of life from zooplankton, fish, sea birds to marine mammals. The Angolan coast stretches 1,650 kilometres along the southern eastern Atlantic, from 5º to 16º S and is characterized by a typical tropical regime in the northern part and a more temperate one in the south, where the southward warm Angolan current and the northward cold Benguela current meet and form the Angola-Benguela front.

The coastline is of great importance to ecological processes and dependent fauna and flora. At least 26 perennial rivers flow into the Angolan coast and many others flow towards the north, east and southeast. Wide estuaries such as those of the Congo, Dande, Cuanza and Cunene rivers are the basis for an intrinsic network of species and support important food chains that are essential to the livelihood of the population, including those of neighbouring countries. Mangroves and estuaries occur along the Angolan coastline and constitute transition ecosystems of important biological and ecological importance, providing harbour and nurseries for aquatic species of economic, biodiversity and tourist importance (including the West African manatee) to the country. Of the 57 cartilaginous fish species (sharks and rays) that occur in Angolan coastal waters, about 12 are classified as species that require special conservation measures. Other protected species along the Angolan coast include sea turtles (including the leatherback) that nidificate on quiet shores – notably along the coastline directly in front of Quiçama NP and at the southern boundary of Iona NP, which supports the highest concentration of marine turtles and fish in the country. There is a significant decline in numbers of turtles in both locations caused by coastal development and direct hunting. Sea mammal species such as whales and dolphins are also vulnerable, and the manatee is under serious threat from voluntary and involuntary hunting and disturbance in the estuary of the Cuanza river, which emerges alongside the northern boundary of Quiçama NP. As a result, there is an urgent need to reinforce protection of the marine and coastal ecosystems that lie adjacent to Quiçama and Iona National Parks.

Much is yet to be discovered and described in terms of marine and coastal biodiversity in Angola, particularly the importance of biodiversity resources to ecological balance, economic and social development, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from these resources. Angola’s marine and coastal ecosystems sustain both artisanal and large-scale fishery activities which contribute to local food security and employment for thousands of people in areas of limited alternatives in Angola. These fisheries activities serve as important drivers of sustainable development. It also supports an important reserve of oil and gas, which is an important source of income through foreign currency.

1 MPAs:

Namibe Marine Conservation Area

4 Marine Managed Areas:

Ilheu dos Passaros Integral Nature Reserve
National Park Iona National Park
National Park Quiçãma National Park
Partial Reserve Namibe Partial Reserve