Because of its remote location and despite its arid landscape, Iona National Park is home to a unique biodiversity, with many mammal, bird and reptile species occurring only in this ecoregion.
Iona National Park is situated in the south-west corner of Angola and constitutes the northern tip of the Namib Desert, considered to be the oldest desert in the world. Iona is contiguous with Skeleton Coast National Park in Namibia, creating – in conjunction with the Namibe Partial Reserve to the north – one of the largest transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) in the world. Together, they cover nearly 50,000 km2, of which Iona National Park spans 15,150 km2 – one of the largest parks in Angola.

Although declared a national park in 1964, this region endured over four decades of conflict. During this time, rhino and elephant populations were eradicated, infrastructure destroyed, and tremendous hardship endured by local communities. With the end of the conflict, local communities began to return to previously untouched areas of the park, putting additional pressure on the remnant wildlife populations and limiting their access to available resources. But through it all, life held on; today, viable populations of zebra, oryx, and springbok remain, along with remnant populations of cheetah, leopard, and brown hyaena.

Seeking to protect this extraordinary landscape, the Angolan Government partnered with African Parks in December 2019 to revive Iona and ensure its longterm ecological, social, and economic sustainability, for both its wildlife and its people. With conservation and the optimisation of tourism and other sustainable revenue-generating activities, Iona has the potential to support healthy ecosystems, both terrestrial and at the terrestrial-marine interface, to benefit people long into the future.

Termed one of the world’s richest hot-spots of biological diversity, Mayombe forest, part of the tropical rainforest biome, forms the southern margin of evergreen tropical rainforest in Central Africa. Climate in the region is hot and humid, with mean annual temperatures of 23-26°C and a mean annual rainfall of around 1,200 - 1,800 mm. Fog occurs frequently. Mayombe forest is a multi-storied forest, ranging from dominant layers of tall evergreen trees (40-60m), with narrow canopies, through layers of smaller trees and shrubs with climbers, to diversified layers of herbaceous and epiphytic plants. The forest is home to a wide variety of fauna, like insects and other invertebrates, freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. It is also home to primate species such as the chimpanzee, lowland gorilla and several species of old world monkeys. Other mammals that can be found here include the forest elephant, forest buffalo, bush pig and forest hog. The area is also known for the rare giant pangolin, tree pangolin and flying squirrel. The African manatee is found in the Zaire River, and the forest also boasts a variety of at least 95 bird species, amongst others the African grey parrot and the great crested lourie. Hence, the Mayombe ecosystem is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area.
There are a few hotels in Cabinda. Safari packages include activities like river tubing, gorilla and animal watching, trekking, hiking, visiting waterfalls, swimming in rivers and lakes and camping. Although more and more people visit the Mayombe forest area, responsible tourism (biodiversity conservation, education, and empowerment of local communities) is still under development in the region. Mayombe Forest has great potential to become an attractive tourism destination along the Atlantic coast with its long sunny beaches, extraordinary landscapes from savannah to rainforest, a unique flora and fauna, and a rich cultural history.