BIOFUND collaborated in organising a workshop to discuss a national agenda of conservation research, together with USAID and ANAC, with the support of USAID/SPEED, in Maputo, April 2014.

The seminar, which for the first time promoted interaction between professional scientists, teachers and students from graduate and post-graduate courses in the various disciplines involved, laid the foundations for the survey of scientific works on conservation and biodiversity in Mozambique. Click here for more information about the seminar.

The objectives of the seminar were:

• To bring together scientists, university teachers, students on graduate and post-graduate courses, the Mozambican government and non-governmental organisations that work, or are interested in, conservation science in the country;
• To serve as a meeting place for researchers to present their most recent research;
• To identify the lessons learnt and to share the best practices of current and past research, in order to improve our understanding of biodiversity, ecosystems, ecosystem services, population dynamics, relations with the community, and conflict between people and wild animals;
• To help ANAC define a national conservation research agenda which can inform the policy and administration of the park;
• To prioritise research projects for which results are urgently needed.

Specialists took part with interests and knowledge about conservation science, biodiversity (genes, species, ecosystems), ecology, evolution, population dynamics, population genetics, behavioural ecology, social sciences, wild life veterinary medicine, bio-geography, anthropology, hydrology and other relevant themes related with terrestrial, fresh water and marine ecosystems.