LOWER ZAMBEZI RIVER BASIN BASELINE DATA ON LANDUSE ...

iophysical gradients that influence the distribution and performance of both species andfunctional types 2 . Many plant and animal species in the project area for example, also occur inother regions of Southern Africa 3 . In reviewing the available biodiversity information of the twofocal districts of Mutarara and Morrumbala and the associated districts of Chemba, Maringue andMopeia, it is therefore necessary to consider the wider biophysical and geopolitical context ofMozambique and Southern Africa.28. Much of Mozambique’s biodiversity, particularly overall habitat quality, is recognisedinternationally and is arguably among the best preserved in Africa 4 (Table 3.1). This is due to acombination of relatively low demographic density, the general depopulation of rural areas over20 years of civil strife, and the underdeveloped basic infrastructure. In 1994 Mozambiqueestablished a National Biodiversity Unit (NBU) within MICOA, whose mission is to oversee theimplementation of the Biodiversity Convention in Mozambique. In 1996 the Government ofMozambique approved the National Environmental Management Programme (NEMP) thatrepresented the culmination of a series of initiatives and activities coordinated by MICOA.NEMP is the master-plan for the Environment in Mozambique. It contains a NationalEnvironment Policy, Environment Umbrella Legislation and an Environmental Strategy. One ofMICOA’s principal tasks in 1997 includedthe formulation and subsequentratification of a National Strategy andAction Plan for the Conservation ofBiological Diversity. Within theframework of this strategy, a number ofbiodiversity conservation issues are beingaddressed. These include technical, legal,political, cultural and socio-economicaspects of biological diversity. InsideMICOA, it is the National Directorate ofEnvironmental Management (DNGA),which deals with the three RioConventions (UNFCCC, CBD and CCD),and the DNGA has responsibility tocoordinate with other institutions theimplementation of these conventions 5 .Mozambique is also signatory to theSADC Regional Biodiversity Strategy 6that aims to provide a framework forregional cooperation in biodiversity issuesthat transcend national boundaries. Asmost biodiversity issues in SADC aretransnational, this is a logical developmentin biodiversity conservation. The SADCMember States are also signatories to theTable 3.1 Comparative conservation status ofbiodiversity in Mozambique2 Used here in the sense of adaptive features of individual organisms that contribute to dispersal andsurvival and that influence the way ecosystems respond to environmental change.3 Typically taxonomic elements of Mopane and Zambezian woodlands and forests that include members ofthe Mimosoideae (e.g. Acacia spp.) and Caesalpinoideae (Bauhinia, Colophospermum spp.)4 Centre for Environment Information & Knowledge in Africa (CEIKA)5 MICOA: Mozambique Initial National Communication to the UNFCCC. (2003).6 SADC (Southern African Development Community) consists of thirteen Member States: Angola,Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, SouthAfrica, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.16