The COMBO+ partners in Mozambique, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Foundation for the Conservation of Biodiversity (BIOFUND) and the National Directorate for the Environment (DINAB), in collaboration with the company KENMARE Resources plc, organised a visit to exchange experiences in the field involving government entities and civil society. The objective was to offer technicians from all the institutions involved the opportunity to analyze and discuss, in a dynamic way, practical aspects of implementing the mitigation hierarchy in the context of project development with the aim of achieving No Net Loss (NPL) or Net Gain (GL) of Biodiversity and contributing to national and global conservation targets.
The experience exchange mission took place in KENMARE Resources plc's operation areas, including the mining and processing plants, its nurseries for producing seedlings, its rehabilitation and restoration areas, the resettlement village, as well as projects implemented together with the communities to reduce their impact on the ecosystems, located on the northern coast of Mozambique, in the districts of Larde and Moma (Nampula Province). The visit lasted four days (from February 26 to 29, 2024) and involved around 33 participants.
KENMARE Resources plc, which has operated the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine since 2007, is a mining company that is recognized as a major supplier of heavy sands products to a global customer base operating in more than 15 countries. KENMARE Resources plc's products are essential raw materials that are transformed into intermediate products and ultimately consumed in everyday "quality of life" products such as paints, surgical instruments, plastics, and ceramic tiles.
This experience exchange visit is an integral part of the multisectoral training and capacity building activities led by the COMBO+ Program since 2016, which will continue to be promoted throughout the country with the primary objective of promoting communication and discussion of biodiversity impact mitigation between economic development project proponents and the government, strengthening the technical capacity of government entities on the evaluation, monitoring and oversight of the implementation of the mitigation hierarchy and sharing knowledge with all parties involved.