The environmentalist and Mozambican lawyer Carlos Serra has warned about the weak preparation of national lawyers in environmental matters, pointing out that this structural gap in legal education undermines the response to the growing challenges related to natural resources in the country.
“The country embarked on a rush for natural resources, especially minerals, as we know, from the first decade of this century, and this reinforced the need for limits and, of course, for the transformation of various professionals. However, legal training was not provided,” explained Carlos Serra during an online debate promoted by the Academy of Legal Science (ACJ).
Quoted by Lusa, Serra stated that despite the existence of environmental law subjects in law degrees in the country, the training still does not effectively cover the broader field of natural resources nor does it integrate a practical environmental-legal approach to economic activities.
“We still do not have master’s or postgraduate programmes in this specialty in the country, so we have to rely on foreign training, and that is a gap,” he noted, stressing that this deficit becomes even more concerning due to the increase in environmental conflicts and the growing need for specialized legal assistance, especially in contexts involving companies and local communities.
In addition to the role of the Mozambican Bar Association (OAM), Carlos Serra emphasized the need for intervention from other entities, including higher education institutions, in promoting more training initiatives, stressing that “the needs are immense.”
Serra drew attention to the vulnerability of local communities to the impacts of economic projects, advocating for greater legal intervention to ensure environmental justice.
The expert described a worrying scenario in various parts of the country, warning that “when the land is dug up, forests are destroyed and rivers are polluted, many populations face conflicts without any kind of assistance, finding themselves in a very basic situation where they do not know what to do.”
