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With a few exceptions, comprehensive assessment of invasive plants species (IPSs) list that invade Maputo Special Reserve’s natural ecosystems is lacking. Some available data are either preliminary or localised, or focus on agricultural weeds that leave an ecological gap about IPSs. In order to establish this gap, a study was conducted to asses the impact of IPSs in Maputo Special Reserve. A stratified random sample was used to allocate five land use and land cover strata. Plots of 20 m diameter formed by two replicates were established in transects within plot of 160 m × 80 m and each invasive plants species number were counted and recorded. At every 10 km distance of the road side in different reserve directions, field plots of 10 m × 10 m were also established location and coordinates where invasive plants species occur recorded. With the ARCGIS 10.3 software, IPSs location coordinates were positioned on the map to create location. Data analysis was through calculation of diversity and evenness indices (Shannon-wiener (H') and Simpson (D'). Student’s t -test was used to compare diversity differences between the invaded and un-invaded sites. The result indicated the occurrence of 26 IPSs across all strata with Lantana camara and Eucalyptus sp being dominant. Settlement stratum recorded the highest level of invasive plants compared to other strata. Student t test on differences in Shannon-wiener diversity (H‘) between invaded and un-invaded areas showed that there was significant difference in species diversity (t 0.05(2) 170 =1.84 0.05< P< 0.10). The threat of IPSs is increasing at an alarming rate, thus control methods have to be designed to stop further spreading into Maputo Special Reserve. Key words: Biological invasions, environmental damage, species diversity, ecosystem services.

Governments and non-governmental organizations in developing countries have long struggled to identify effective strategies to support rural economic development. In the context of neoliberal reforms which have downsized the size of the state, governments are increasingly turning to private investment as a means of stimulating rural development. This is envisioned to occur through several different pathways, including employment creation, voluntary contributions to social services and infrastructure, and through business models that generate value for local communities. Yet to date, there is very little comparative research to identify the wider patterns of investment, and the nature and reach of benefits accruing through them. This paper undertakes such an analysis in the context of a national effort in Mozambique to level the playing field for local communities in the context of a recent surge in private investment, the Community Lands Initiative (Iniciativa de Terras Comunitarias, or iTC). iTC efforts to build community level capacity take place in a legislative context considered by many to be strongly supportive of customary rights, and in one of the most dynamic investment climates on the continent. Assessing outcomes in a context in which both the challenges and the potential for more empowering forms of investment are magnified provides a unique opportunity to explore the broader question of whether the logic of capital accumulation underlying agricultural investment can drive, or even be reconciled with, poverty alleviation and rural development agendas. Findings point to the incompatibilities between these aims, with many investments failing to result in community-investor partnerships and most of the partnerships that have emerged resulting in limited benefits for local communities. These findings suggest that community-investor partnerships are unlikely to be the much sought-after silver bullet for reconciling private investment with rural development and poverty alleviation aims.