Mozambican government and partners strengthen private sector involvement in mitigating the impact of development projects on biodiversity

Around 25 members of the CTA, private sector and government were trained on the implementation of biodiversity offsets in Mozambique (Ministerial Diploma n^o 55/2022 of 19 May). The event, promoted by the COMBO+ Program, a partnership between the Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS-Mozambique) and the Foundation for the  Conservation of Biodiversity (BIOFUND), took place on 27^th November 2024 in Maputo National Park (PNAM).

The aim of this training was to train and make participants aware of the content of the Biodiversity Offsets Directive in Mozambique (Ministerial Diploma n^o 55/2022 of 19 May) ,as well as the use of the respective  Implementation Manual, and to share experiences and lessons learned from the Pilot Project that simulates the implementation of a Biodiversity Offset  (known as the Habitat Improvement Pilot Project) implemented in Maputo National Park (PNAM) following the guidelines set out in Ministerial Diploma n^o 55/2022 of 19 May. By carrying out this training, the CTA and the private sector are increasingly aware of and prepared for their active engagement in the implementation of measures to mitigate the impacts of development projects on biodiversity following the Mitigation Hierarchy (MH), contributing to the alignment of economic development with biodiversity conservation. 

This training is part of the capacity-building program implemented by the COMBO+ program since 2021, targeting the National Directorate of Environment (DINAB’s) technicians from the Biodiversity Offset Assessment and Monitoring Office (RAACB), the Technical Commission for Environmental Impact Assessment Evaluation (CTA), academia, the private sector, NGOs and all other actors involved in the implementation of biodiversity offsets in Mozambique. Further national capacity-building training will be implemented, with the next one planned to be addressed to the financial sector.

The COMBO+ Program in Mozambique is currently funded by the Agence Française de Developpement (AFD) and the Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial (FFEM), with co-financing from other donors, including NORAD. In Mozambique, COMBO+ is also funded by the MOZBIO 2 Project (World Bank), UNDP (BIOSFAC and BIOFIN) and the Biodiversity Conservation Programme through the Government of Sweden.