Mozambique will improve the management of its protected areas with a project of US$16.3 million, declared the government on 15th of October in Maputo. The project includes three components, namely financial sustainability of the protected areas system, definition of joint management models and planning of businesses and revenue generation. The remaining US$11.4 million needed to fund the project will come from other partners.

The project is designed by the Ministry of Tourism, and will be jointly implemented with the support from UNDP and other partners like WWF and CARR Foundation. The Global Environment Facility is global network with partners from 178 countries.

According to Naomi Kitahara, the Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP, Mozambique’s biodiversity has significant value not only to the country itself but also internationally: “In spite of this, there are several threads that can harm the costal and marine ecosystems, the rivers and the land.”

The Mozambican economy is heavily dependent on biodiversity, which has been threatened by problems related to out-of-control exploration of forest, fishing and animal resources. After the preparatory phase, the plan is to create - by May 2010 - a joint proposal of a full-sized project to establish an efficient and sustainably funded administrative authority for protected areas.

At the moment, there are 47 government-owned protected areas in Mozambique. They cover about 13 million hectares or 17 percent of the country and some 4 percent of the coastal area.