On 15 July 2021, the “PROMOVE Biodiversidade” programme held the 1st meeting of its National Supervisory Committee, at a virtual event organized by the Foundation for the Conservation of Biodiversity (BIOFUND) and the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC).

About 30 members and guests participated in the event, notably from the European Union, the Office of the National Authorising Officer (GON) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, a representative of the Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries (MIMAIP), Administrators of the beneficiary areas, Directors of the Provincial Environment Services of Zambézia and Nampula, programme implementing partners in the beneficiary areas, and representatives of five institutions of higher education in Nampula, Niassa and Zambézia provinces, notably the Vice-Chancellor of the Licungo University, Prof. Dr. Boaventura José Aleixo.

During the meeting, the general director of ANAC and Chairperson of the CNS, Mateus Mutemba, said that the programme will strengthen activities to conserve biodiversity in Mozambique. “PROMOVE Biodiversidade, a project resulting from an agreement signed in 2019 between the Mozambican government and the European Union, will contribute to implementing the strategy for the conservation of biodiversity in our country.”

The CNS of PROMOVE Biodiversidade is a multi-sector body, which will advise and accompany the implementers and beneficiaries in various activities undertaken in the framework of the programme and ensure alignment with national and international policies and strategies. This 1st meeting discussed and aligned the responsibilities of the committee, the activity plans, the budget and the stage of implementation of PROMOVE Biodiversidade.

The first meeting of the CNS of PROMOTE Biodiversity took place a month after the official launch of the programme in the Gilé National Park, under the slogan “We are all Biodiversity”.

PROMOVE Biodiversidade is a programme financed by the European Union and implemented by BIOFUND and ANAC, which seeks to promote the conservation of biodiversity and community development in two conservation areas and one area of high biodiversity, namely the Gilé National Park (PNAG), the First and Second Islands Environmental Protection Area (APAIPS) and Mount Mabu, in Zambézia and Nampula provinces.