Nyusi calls for the achievement of regional goals on miombo forest

Maputo, 18 Apr (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has called for the achievement of the regional goals on the miombo forest as a means of fulfilling the 2030 objectives of the United Nations global biodiversity framework.

Miombo is a Swahili word referring to the “brachystegia” genus of tree that includes a large number of species. The miombo formation makes up the largest dry tropical forest ecosystem in Africa, being a source of water, food, shelter, timber, electricity generation and tourism.

According to Nyusi, who was speaking on Wednesday at the end of the International Conference on the Miombo Forest, a three-day event that took place in Washington, “we need to transform the Intentions of the Maputo Declaration into concrete and sustainable acts, towards achieving the goals of regional and global countries and the ambitious target of achieving the 2030 objectives of the United Nations global biodiversity framework.”

The Maputo Declaration on the Miombo Forest was signed in 2022. It is an agreement which establishes priorities for the sustainable management and governance of the natural resources of the Miombo ecosystems.

The agreement was signed by Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

At the Washington conference, the signatories to the Maputo Declaration on the Miombo Forest adopted a Letter of Intent aimed at mobilizing resources to ensure its sustainability.

The document defines the mechanisms for allocating resources for the implementation of Miombo Forest initiatives.

Nyusi stressed that the miombo ecosystems “cover around two million square kilometers in southern Africa and provide countless goods and services that guarantee the livelihoods of over 300 million inhabitants”.

The president also proposed transforming the debt of the least polluting countries into funding for climate events, as a way of freeing up domestic resources to be invested in environmental conservation programmes.

On the second and final day of the conference, Mozambique’s Minister of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibaze, said the participants “appreciated positively” the draft letter of intent, which will now go to the individual states for final approval.

The letter of intent presents a mechanism for financing the miombo initiative. This will include the creation of a fund based in Mozambique to implement the Maputo Declaration.

The Mozambican government hopes to mobilise investments of about 550 million dollars to protect the miombo forest.

(AIM)

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