Marine Conservation
Along the remote southern coast of Somalia, where ancient forests meet the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, lies Lag Badana–Bushbushle National Park — one of East Africa’s most extraordinary and least explored protected landscapes. Here, coastal forests, towering mangroves, open grasslands, winding rivers, wetlands, and untouched beaches merge into a remarkable mosaic of life.
From above, the landscape unfolds like a living tapestry. Dense green forests give way to shimmering mangrove channels, while golden beaches stretch endlessly along the coastline. This is a place where Africa’s wilderness still thrives much as it has for centuries.
The park shelters an exceptional diversity of wildlife. Small herds of elephants move quietly through the forests, Somali giraffes browse among scattered woodlands, and African buffalo roam the grasslands. The critically endangered hirola antelope — one of the world’s rarest antelopes — finds refuge here alongside zebras, leopards, lions, topi, and countless other species. Hundreds of birds fill the forests, wetlands, and coastline, making the park an internationally significant refuge for biodiversity.
For generations, local communities have shared a close relationship with this landscape, drawing their livelihoods from its forests, rivers, and sea while preserving traditions deeply connected to nature. Today, community-led conservation is helping restore forests, protect wildlife, revive mangrove ecosystems, and promote sustainable livelihoods that benefit both people and nature.
Yet this remarkable wilderness faces growing pressures. Illegal logging, charcoal production, habitat loss, poaching, climate change, and limited conservation resources continue to threaten its future. Protecting Lag Badana–Bushbushle National Park is not only vital for Somalia’s natural heritage, but also for safeguarding one of the last great coastal wildernesses of East Africa for generations to come.
A Living Coast
The biodiversity encompasses extensive mangrove forests, estuaries, sandy beaches, coastal dunes, seagrass meadows, coral reefs, and productive coastal waters that support an exceptional diversity of marine life.
These habitats provide refuge for green, hawksbill, and olive ridley sea turtles, dolphins, whales, and countless species of reef fish, seabirds, and other marine wildlife.
The park’s mangrove forests and seagrass beds are essential nursery grounds that sustain healthy fisheries, protect the coastline from erosion, and store significant amounts of blue carbon — making them vital for both biodiversity and climate resilience.
Lag Badana Community Conservancy Trust is a community-led conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring this unique marine ecosystem. Through mangrove restoration, marine habitat protection, environmental education, sustainable fisheries, scientific monitoring, and community partnerships, we are working to ensure that the natural heritage of Lag Badana–Bushbushle National Park is conserved for future generations.
Together with local communities and conservation partners, we are building a future where healthy oceans, thriving wildlife, and sustainable livelihoods exist in harmony.
