The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) organized a four-day’ workshop to discuss the classification and mapping of ecosystem types. The workshop was held in Pretoria, South Africa, from November 20th to 23rd, 2023, under the initiative "Building Biodiversity Knowledge for Action in Southern Africa: Spatial Biodiversity Assessment, Prioritization, and Planning (SBAPP) in South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia," funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Fonds Français pour L'environnement Mondial (FFEM).
The event was attended by 26 participants, representing governments, universities, research institutes, and agencies that are implementing the SBAPP project.The workshop's aim was to discuss how relevant it is to map the historical extent of ecosystem types and how this information would be useful to inform decision-making in southern Africa. WCS Mozambique and DINAB (National Directorate for the Environment) from the Ministry of Land and Environment in Mozambique shared the country’s experience on classifying and mapping the historical extent of ecosystem types. In addition, the Mozambican delegate had the opportunity to explain how they deal with cross-border ecosystem types to ensure a coherent classification in the region. Mozambique benefited from the experience of other countries, particularly in how freshwater systems have been integrated into maps of ecosystems.
The country is looking forward to applying the lessons learned, focusing on revising the Red List of ecosystem types, assessing ecological condition, and developing spatial prioritization analysis for biodiversity conservation.
Click here for more information on ecosystems in Mozambique
Click here for more information on the SBAPP project