On March 27th and 28th 2024, the COMBO+ Mozambique Project hosted a training session for technicians from the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) on the Ministerial Diploma 55/2022, which approves the Directive on Biodiversity Offsets. This sets out the requirements for achieving measurable conservation outcomes from actions designed to compensate for significant residual impacts on biodiversity caused by development projects after appropriate measures have been taken to avoid and minimize the impacts and restore the affected areas.
According to the Diploma, to guarantee the viability and permanence of the relevant conservation outcomes, biodiversity offsets should preferably be developed within the conservation areas network (where additional) or in other Important areas for biodiversity outside the conservation area network, such as in Key Biodiversity Areas, through the protection and formal management of these areas. Therefore, recognizing the crucial role of ANAC in the implementation and management of biodiversity offsets in Mozambique, the National Directorate for the Environment (DINAB) in coordination with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Foundation for the Conservation of Biodiversity (BIOFUND), through the COMBO+ Program (Conservation, Mitigation and Biodiversity Offsets) promoted this training. The main aim was strengthening the capacity and awareness of ANAC technicians on the new Ministerial Diploma nº 55/2022 of May 19 on the implementation of biodiversity offsets in Mozambique, ensuring that ANAC is effectively engaged and well prepared to actively contribute to its successful implementation.
The event was attended by 27 participants (including Technicians, Conservation Area Administrators and trainers). The topics covered included (i) a general overview and structure of Ministerial Diploma No. 55/2022 and its respective Implementation Manual, (ii) the role of offsets and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in achieving national biodiversity targets, and (iii) technical tools (e.g. Red Lists of species and ecosystems, ecosystem map) and platforms (e.g. Biodiversity Portal - SIBMOZ) developed for the implementation of offsets and their respective status.