Parc Marin des Mangroves (Mangroves Marine / National Park), Muanda

The DRC's only marine protected area, at the mouth of the Congo River on the Atlantic coast near Muanda/Banana, Kongo Central Province. Established 1992; designated a Ramsar wetland site on 18 January 1996 (Ramsar No. 788); IUCN Category II; covers about 768 km2. Managed by the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). As an aire protegee under the Loi n 14/003 of 2014, any activity incompatible with conservation objectives is prohibited (Art. 25); as a parc national, all fishing of any kind is criminally prohibited under Art. 71(4) and capturing/killing fauna under Art. 72. Protected fauna include the African manatee, marine turtles (olive ridley, leatherback, green), hippopotamus and crocodiles. Spearfishing here is prohibited.