The Mozambican program of Wildlife Conservation Society was represented at the International Congress for Conservation Biology, which is taking place virtually between 13th and 17th December 2021. This is a global forum for addressing conservation challenges and for presenting new research in conservation science and practice; it is considered the major networking event for anyone interested in conservation.
Hugo Costa, WCS's Marine Program Director in Mozambique, and leader of the Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) work developed in the country since 2019 was invited to make a presentation in the Symposium "Progress and prospects for Key Biodiversity Areas in Africa and globally". Hugo presented "The first terrestrial and marine Key Biodiversity Area assessment in Mozambique: embedding KBAs in national planning, policy and decision making", explaining how this process was developed and implemented, how the National Coordination Group for KBAs and Red Lista was established, how KBAs were integrated in the National territorial Development Plan, in the Marine Spatial Plan and in the national legislation (Decree for the Protection, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Birds and their habitats, and on the new Biodiversity Offsets Diploma). The next steps were also explained.
This Symposium reflected on the successes and challenges of the KBA program in Africa and beyond. Establishment of National Coordination Groups is progressing rapidly, with groups operational or planned in more than a dozen African countries. Finally, KBA data are now widely used in decision-making, for example in national protected areas planning, in supporting national territorial and marine developing planning, in informing private sector investments, and in monitoring progress towards global targets through mechanisms like the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, Sustainable Development Goals, and beyond.
The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places all over the and since 2012 is committed to supporting he Mozambican Government in reconciling the biodiversity conservation efforts with economic development and improvement of the livelihoods of local communities.
To get more information about the event follow the link: https://conbio.org/mini-sites/iccb-2021/