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MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambique Forest Figures
Forest CoverTotal forest area: 19,262,000 ha % of land area: 24.6%
Primary forest cover: n/a % of land area: n/a % total forest area: n/a
Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005Annual change in forest cover: -50,000 ha Annual deforestation rate: -0.3% Change in defor. rate since '90s: 2.6% Total forest loss since 1990: -750,000 ha Total forest loss since 1990:-3.7%
Primary or "Old-growth" forests Annual loss of primary forests: n/a Annual deforestation rate: n/a Change in deforestation rate since '90s: n/a Primary forest loss since 1990: n/a Primary forest loss since 1990:n/a
Forest ClassificationPublic: 100% Private: n/a Other: n/a Use Production: 17.5% Protection: n/a Conservation: 2.3% Social services: n/a Multiple purpose: 80.2% None or unknown: n/a
Forest Area BreakdownTotal area: 19,262,000 ha Primary: n/a Modified natural: 19,224,000 ha Semi-natural: n/a Production plantation: 38,000 ha Production plantation: n/a
PlantationsPlantations, 2005: 38,000 ha % of total forest cover: 0.2% Annual change rate (00-05): n/a
Carbon storageAbove-ground biomass: 978 M t Below-ground biomass: 235 M t
Area annually affected byFire: n/a Insects: n/a Diseases: n/a
Number of tree species in IUCN red listNumber of native tree species: n/a Critically endangered: 4 Endangered: 2 Vulnerable: 40
After emerging from 16 years of brutal civil war, Mozambique stands at a crossroads between conservation and development—although when done properly, both are possible. While one of the world's poorest countries, Mozambique has tremendous potential for eco-tourism with its beautiful beaches, safari life, and Lake Malawi diving opportunities. Foreign investors are financing the construction of a number of hotels.
While forest covers nearly a quarter of the country, Mozambique has little tropical forest coverage. Nevertheless, deforestation rates are quite low—only 3.7 percent of the country's forest cover was lost between 1990 and 2005—and have not increased significantly in the past five years. As of 2003, 5.7 percent of the country was under some form of protection, although poaching is a problem in some areas. Mozambique's large protected area is Limpopo National Park, which is part of the larger Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, consisting of Limpopo, Kruger National Park in South Africa, and Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe.
In the early to mid-2000s, an American internet executive committed more than $30 million to rebuilding Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique as an ecotourism destination. Greg Carr, former chairman of Prodigy Internet and Boston Technology, planned to reintroduce animals from elsewhere in Africa
Mozambique has 685 species of birds, 195 mammals, 228 reptiles, 59 amphibians, and nearly 5,700 species of plants.
In 2005, Mozambique launched a "Small Grants Programme" with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This provides grants of up to US$50,000 and other support to community-based groups and non-governmental organizations for activities that address land degradation, biodiversity, and climate-change issues at the local level.
Solar powered conservation
(08/25/2009) Electricity can be a difficult commodity to procure in the remote areas where conservationists often work. Typically field researchers and wildlife rangers rely on gas-powered generators, which require imported fuel, often produce noxious fumes and disruptive noise, and can be costly to maintain. A better option, especially in sun-drenched parts of the world, is solar. Clean and silent, with no need for supplemental fuel, solar seems like an ideal fit for conservation work except for one major drawback: cost. But Stephen Gold – Solar and Technology Manager for Wildlife Conservation Network has been working to overcome that obstacle.
Indigenous people, forest communities in Africa control less than 2% of forest land
(05/28/2009) Less than 2 percent of Africa’s tropical forests are under community control, hindering efforts to slow deforestation and alleviate rural poverty, reports a new assessment from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), a global coalition of non-governmental and community organizations.
Photos: Google Earth used to find new species
(12/22/2008) Scientists have used Google Earth to find a previously unknown trove of biological diversity in Mozambique, reports the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Scouring satellite images via Google Earth for potential conservation sites at elevations of 1600 meters or more, Julian Bayliss a locally-based conservationist, in 2005 spotted a 7,000-hectare tract of forest on Mount Mabu. The scientifically unexplored forest had previously only been known to villagers. Subsequent expeditions in October and November this year turned up hundreds of species of plants and animals, including some that are new to science.
Mozambique Gets World Bank conservation, Tourism Project
(12/05/2005) More of Mozambique's natural ecosystems will be conserved, and thus draw more tourism to the country, thanks to a World Bank-funded project that aims to promote economic growth through sustainable use of natural resources.
10 million people will need humanitarian assistance in Southern Africa
(09/23/2005) As many as 10 million people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe have been assessed as food insecure and will need humanitarian assistance until the next harvest according to a food security brief from USAID.
