The European Union (EU) will disburse 2.4 billion meticals (35 million euros) to support marine environmental conservation programmes and their sustainability in Mozambique.
According to Agência de Informação de Moçambique (AIM), the information was revealed to the press this Tuesday, 28 May, in Maputo, by the Resilience and Climate Change advisor to the European Union Delegation in Mozambique, Riccardo Rossi, during a course on Risk Assessment by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).
The source said that for the implementation of the programme, the EU is working in coordination with the Ministry of the Sea Inland Waters and Fisheries (MIMAIP). ‘We are ready to launch a specific programme in collaboration with MIMAIP for the blue economy. We also want to increase investment in Mozambique by European companies and, above all, the conservation of the marine environment and its sustainability,’ he said.
‘The amounts involved are around 2.4 billion meticals (35 million euros). The general lines of the work we’re going to do together have already been agreed and the issue of contracting the programme is underway. Possibly before the end of the year, implementation will begin,’ he added.
Asked what the European Union would gain from the project, Riccardo Rossi explained that ‘our interest is in the partnership with the government and with the global agenda, which is of great importance in terms of the sustainability of marine resources’.
Riccardo Rossi
He also said that the EU is committed to maintaining fishing resources, their sustainability for future generations and the well-being of economic operators. ‘We know that there are also European economic operators working in the waters of Mozambique and the region. It is therefore in our common interest to keep this resource sustainable,’ he emphasised.
Conserving and using the oceans and marine resources for sustainable development corresponds to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 14 established by the UN. This SDG recognises the critical importance of the oceans for human well-being, food security, the global economy and the health of the planet as a whole.
In fact, the UN emphasises the urgent need for all countries to protect the oceans and marine resources, given their vital role in regulating the climate, producing oxygen, absorbing carbon and maintaining biodiversity.
