Jul 14, 2026 |
Photographers Orlando Miranda and Salvador Colvée have teamed up with researchers to create a new catalogue acting as a unique visual archive of the Bazaruto Archipelago.
With the launch of the Wild Bazaruto catalogue, environmental conservation gains a new tool that combines aesthetics with scientific rigour to reveal the immense complexity of one of the richest and most vital areas of the Indian Ocean.
A produção desta obra resulta de um trabalho conjunto que integra as equipas do Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies (BCSS) e do Kisawa Sanctuary, sob a direcção e validação científica do investigador Mario Lebrato.
According to the BCSS, the publication serves as an ecological and cultural compendium of a territory constantly shaped by natural forces. As explained, the long geological process spanning over one hundred thousand years – shaped by currents, winds and tidal fluctuations – has endowed these five islands with a unique mosaic comprising coral reefs, vibrant mangroves, seagrass beds and dune systems in constant geographical transition.
The biodiversity showcased throughout the pages of the new catalogue confirms the global conservation status of this marine sanctuary. The protected areas documented are home to everything from crucial populations of dugongs, which depend on the underwater seagrass beds for food, to five distinct species of sea turtles.
The photographic collection also features the majestic whale sharks, manta rays and more than sixty species of elasmobranchs that dominate the region’s reefs and oceanic channels. By focusing on the scientific aspect, the work also serves as a visual and educational extension of the Ocean Observatory managed by the BCSS, supporting the long-standing compilation of data on the migratory route of humpback whales and rare cetaceans that require continuous ecological monitoring.
The human dimension is another vital aspect of Wild Bazaruto. The book traces back to the earliest settlements in the Iron Age to contextualise the deep contemporary connection between coastal communities, sustainable small-scale fishing practices, and the language and culture of the Xihoca people.
For the organisers of this initiative, photography plays an active and undeniable role in environmental research, whether in the individual identification of animals through images of their fins and flukes, or in the mapping of vulnerable habitats itself.
Photos: BCSS/Orlando Miranda e Salvador Colvée
