WCS delivered a presentation on September 20, 2024, in Maputo City, at a hybrid learning event promoted by USAID through the SPEED+ (Supporting The Policy Enabling Environment for Development) and RCC (Resilient Coastal Communities) programs under the theme “Payment for ecosystem services (PES): an untapped potential in Mozambique?” involving more than 40 participants from various stakeholder groups.
The purpose of the event was to disseminate information on the concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in Mozambique and to explore the potential of this model and its benefits for coastal communities, biodiversity conservation and for the country.
WCS was represented on the panel by Eleutério Duarte, who had the opportunity to share information about the 'Memba-Mossuril pilot project'. This is located in the north of Nampula and has been set up with the aim to test and demonstrate how community initiatives can be structured to create effective incentives for conservation and generate income for communities through a performance-based payment system and thereby to support the protection and improvement of coastal ecosystems. Such a performance-based system could be used under the country’s biodiversity offset mechanism or others, such as blue carbon.
The ‘Memba-Mossuril pilot project’ is the beginning of an innovative PES model and is being implemented with the coastal communities of the Memba-Mossuril districts in Nampula, being promoted within the framework of the COMBO+ program and the Blue Future project.