The Ministry of Land and Environment launches Mozambique’s historical vegetation map and Red List of Ecosystem assessment

As of June 20th 2024, Mozambique has an updated and detailed vegetation map and an assessment of ecosystems' conservation status. The vegetation map was launched by the Minister of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibaze, at the opening of the institution's 5th Coordinating Council, which was held under the slogan "Towards a Sustainable and Integrated Management of the Miombo Forest". 

A total of 162 ecosystems have been mapped, rich in biodiversity and fundamental to the livelihoods of the majority of rural population, because they contribute to water retention, combating drought and desertification, regulating floods and protecting against high temperatures and cyclones that have plagued the country. Several of these ecosystems are threatened by population growth, fires, deforestation, mining and infrastructure, placing 4 percent as Critically Endangered, 9 percent as Endangered, and 32 percent as Vulnerable. 

In response to these concerns, the vegetation map will enable better planning of biodiversity conservation and monitoring actions alongside measures and decisions based on scientific evidence in order to enable the implementation of the Maputo Declaration on the Sustainable and Integrated Management of the Miombo Forest. 

The vegetation map and ecosystem assessments are part of the project aimed at identifying and mapping “Key Biodiversity Areas and Red Listing of Species and Ecosystems” and the “COMBO+ Program”, both led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in partnership with the National Directorate for the Environment (DINAB), with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the French Agency for Development (AFD) and the French Environment Fund (FFEM), for a total of 400,000 US dollars. See here the map video.

The map of ecosystem types is available on Mozambique's Biodiversity Information System (SIBMOZ), the official government portal (www.sibmoz.gov.mz) that centralizes data, information and legislation on biodiversity. 

In her opening speech, the Minister of Land and Environment gave an assessment of the sector's performance over the last five years, in the areas of land, the environment, climate change, forests and biodiversity conservation.