Mozambique inaugurated on Friday a new national park, Chimanimani National Park (PNC), in the central province of Manica, as part of the government's efforts to protect the ecosystem, biodiversity, flora and water resources of the Chimanimani mountain range in that province.

According to a statement released by the country's ministry of land and environment on late Thursday, the new park, an improvement of an area of the 2,300 square kilometers formerly known as the Chimanimani National Reserve, is the only habitat in the world for at least 73 species of plants and a number of rare mammals.

"This is one of the few areas in the world that has mountain elephants and other large and small species of animals, as well as 164 species of freshwater fish."

"It also harbors a large variety of unique birds, reptiles and butterflies, as well as the water springs of the main rivers of central Manica and Sofala provinces," reads the statement.

The PNC, also part of the Trans-Frontier Chimanimani Conservation Area following the signing of a memorandum between Mozambican and Zimbabwean governments in 2001, is also considered as a historical landmark.

"The park also includes caves that were used as hideouts by Mozambican soldiers during the liberation war and a number of rock paintings throughout the Chimanimani mountain range, where the 2,436-meter high Mount Binga, the tallest in the country, is located," reads the statement.

Twenty-five percent of the Mozambican territory is made up of parks, reserves, and other types of conservation areas.