For the past 25 years the National Parks of Angola have not been managed. Ambitious projects such as Operation Noah's Ark are now underway to rehabilitate these parks and build them up to their former beauty as prime tourist destinations.

In the interim, however, many refugees have moved into these areas, forming fully-fledged communities dependent on the land surrounding them. Quiçama National Park has a population of approximately 9 000 people, who use the flora and fauna of the park in order to make a living.

It is important that these tribes are incorporated into the management of the park, and the Kissama Foundation has launched a project whose purpose it is to:

Develop a fully integrated implementation framework for a partnership between the Quiçama National Park and the Quiçama tribe with the aim of conserving biodiversity within the park and its territories, and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.

On completion of the project the Kissama Foundation hopes to have clear policies and guidelines that will help these communities to exist in a sustainable way within the park.