The partners of the COMBO+ program, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Foundation for Biodiversity Conservation (BIOFUND) and the National Directorate of Environment (DINAB), in partnership with the company Portucel Mozambique, promoted an exchange of experiences visit involving government entities, academia, research entities and civil society, with the main objective of showcasing the implementation of best practices for the application of the Mitigation Hierarchy, following the procedures described in the Ministerial Diploma No. 55/2022.
The exchange of experiences mission took place in Portucel Mozambique's operational areas, including its forest nursery, its forestry areas and in the communities benefited by the project, located in the district of Ile (Zambézia Province). The visit lasted for 5 days (from May 2 to 6) and was attended by around 45 participants.
Portucel Mozambique is one of the largest forestry and industrial investment projects in Mozambique, which plans to invest over 2.3 billion US dollars and includes the construction of a pulp mill. The collaboration between the COMBO+ program and Portucel began in 2016 and has been conducted through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) established between the institutions for the development of a case study where the model for applying the mitigation hierarchy of impacts was analyzed to improve and safeguard issues associated with biodiversity.
This exchange of experiences visit is an integral part of the multi-sectoral training and capacity building activities led by the COMBO+ Program since 2016 and will continue to be promoted throughout the country with the primary objective of establishing communication mechanisms between economic development project proponents and the government, strengthening the technical capacity of government entities on the assessment, monitoring and enforcement of the implementation of the mitigation hierarchy, and knowledge sharing with all parties involved.