Mágoe & Zumbo, April 2025 — More than one hundred rangers from Mágoe National Park (PNM) and the Tchuma Tchato Community Programme (PCTT) completed, in April, an intensive training on gender equality, prevention of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA/SH), and social and environmental safeguards, under the MozRural programme. The initiative aims to ensure ethical and sensitive conduct from conservation officers, protecting local communities and visitors.

The MozRural programme establishes strict standards for environmental and social compliance. This training equipped participants with tools to:

• Identify risky behaviours
• Prevent situations of abuse
• Properly refer reported cases through the newly introduced Multisectoral Referral Mechanism, which integrates health, justice, security and social action.

1. Mágoe National Park — 80 participants (rangers and focal points).
2. Tchuma Tchato Community Programme — 30 participants, including rangers, supervisors from the service provider Tiago Lidimba, and members of the district mechanism of Zumbo.

One of the milestones of the training was the collective signing of the Code of Conduct, following a reading and clarification of its key points. The signed copies will be archived for accountability and auditing purposes, reinforcing individual commitment to ethics, respect and protection.

With these skills, rangers become agents of protection and safeguard, strengthening trust between communities and partner institutions — BIOFUND, ANAC and FNDS. The expected outcomes include:

• Reduction of GBV/SEA/SH incidents in conservation areas;
• Full compliance with response protocols;
• Promotion of a culture of responsibility, equality and inclusion on the ground.

To learn more about these trainings or to support future initiatives, visit www.biofund.org.mz or contact info@biofund.org.mz. Share this news and inspire other conservation landscapes to adopt practices that protect both people and biodiversity.

Protecting this natural heritage is protecting the future.