Mozambique: Reforestation goes no further than initiatives

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Mozambique: Reforestation goes no further than initiatives

11:38 CAT | 16 Oct 2017

DW / Forest in Nampula province, in northern Mozambique

Forests continue to disappear in Mozambique at an alarming rate and, despite reforestation initiatives, the scenario has not improved. NGOs say there is corruption and a lack of environmental awareness.

As president, Armando Guebuza created the initiatives “One leader, one forest” and “One student, one plant” and left guidelines for its fulfilment. The main objective was to encourage communities to create forests.

But seven years later, there is little talk of these projects any more, and many are the students and community leaders in Mozambique who do not have a single forest. One of them is Estevão Rafael Ramiro, corporal of the regulado of Monapo in Nampula province.

“Every leader is obliged to have his forest. It is a reminder and it is an order. Every leader when he dies must leave his patrimony, and he is obliged to have a forest. Even if I do not have a forest, I have to say what I am obliged to [say],” he explained.

Mosambik Wälder verschwinden weiterhin — Jordão Matimula, Executive Director of AENA

The government acknowledges the failure to comply with the presidential guidelines for expanding forests, but is proposing new solutions.

Xavier Sakambuera is the national director of Forestry in the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development.

“From our analysis, we have concluded that the reforestation process is still weak, and needs new thinking. The ministry will therefore launch its ‘Standing Forest’ project in October, which will plant a million trees,” he said.

The ‘Standing Forest’ initiative aims to plant trees to recover deforested areas as well as establishing new forest areas.

Lack of awareness and corruption

Mozambican civil society organisations consider that environmental projects have failed mainly because of a lack of community awareness. One of the critical voices is the National Rural Extension Association (AENA).

AENA executive director Jordão Matimula says that “there are some leaders who set up forests because something must be shown for when someone [from the government] comes. This is the effect of ‘one leader, one forest’. How many leaders have a forest in this district? You’ll know it’s just that one, because he’s always the one visited [by the leaders]”.

“Politicians must speak consistently,” Matimula concludes.

The head of the National Rural Extension Association says that corruption and the involvement of political elites in the exploitation of forests will continue to postpone reforestation in the country.

“Companies say they will reforest, but nothing happens. Others say, we already gave the money to the government and the government will do it. But you do not see that money coming through. In this way, corruption and the elites render compliance with legislation ineffective.”

Source: Deutsche Welle