Commonwealth Forests

bullet1 ANNEX 7 COUNTRY INFORMATION
bullet2 MOZAMBIQUE

bullet3 NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE

National Directorate of Lands and Forests (DNTF)
P.O. Box 288
Maputo
Mozambique

At the provincial level there are Provincial Agricultural Directorates which represent the central Ministry of Agriculture. The DNFFB is represented by the Provincial Forest and Wildlife Services at provincial level (FAO,2005b;Cuco & Kumagwelo,1994). In provincial districts Agriculture (and Forestry and Wildlife) is represented by District Agricultural Directorates. Most of the planning, management and control functions have been delegated to the provincial Forest and Wildlife Services (Cuco,1994).

The national research and training institution is part of the above national Ministry of Agriculture, concentrating on the rapidly developing needs of its own staff, and of the communities of the country. Some of these research and training aspects are:

    1. Contribute to the resettlement process and establish proper land use practices;

    2. Support sustainable agriculture productivity and food security;

    3. Promote community participation in the conservation and management of natural resources;

    4. Provide sector-based employment opportunities;

    5. Conserve and manage parks, reserves and protected areas (Cuco & Kumagwelo,1994).

The more than 40 year old University of Maputo now called the Eduardo Mondlane University has 22 faculties , one of which is the one for Agronomy with a staff of about 650 and student numbers of 6800. The number of graduates is still very low .In 1997 there were 230 candidates in the Agronomy faculty. With the help of Finnish foreign aid a forestry training facility is being sponsored at the Chimoio Agricultural Institute. Together these two institutions contribute towards Forestry and Wildlife management and research by educating students towards knowledgeable graduates who can contribute to the country’s wellbeing. It is known that Mozambique students also come and study at South African universities. The website addresses are http://www.uem.mz and http://www.atnesa.org/mozambique.htm.

No outstanding single forestry NGO has been identified. However, a number of active local NGO’s and community organisations are known to exist and are regularly being consulted by the DNFFB at various management and planning levels. No specific professional forestry association exists. However, some Mozambiquans become members of the Southern African Institute of Forestry, publish in their journal and network internationally through the International Society of Tropical Forestry, and its regular ISTF News. Mozambique is part of the Southern African Development Community and has signed the SADC Forestry Protocol , a regional co-operative agreement described in the Chapter on South Africa.