The government revealed that it has already issued 650 fines amounting to 71 million meticais (1.1 million dollars) for illegal exploitation of forest products and wildlife, and since 2024 has suspended eight mining companies due to environmental damage.
Mozambique’s Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries, Roberto Mito Albino, stated that the deployment of inspectors at all land borders and increased monitoring at ports, including the addition of mobile brigades, allowed the state to seize at least 1,700 cubic meters of wood this year.
“Also seized were 147 cubic meters of sawn wood from various species, 6,670 bags of charcoal, 211 bundles of stakes, and 17 bundles of firewood. These products were confiscated in the provinces of Maputo and Inhambane, with at least two criminal cases currently being processed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” the minister detailed on Wednesday, May 28, during a parliamentary question session. From 2024 through the first quarter of this year, at least 300 entities licensed for mining operations were inspected, resulting in penalties and suspension of at least eight companies due to “negative environmental impacts in the provinces of Manica, Tete, and Gaza.”
The minister also added that since last year, at least 1,328 environmental inspections have been conducted, leading to 185 fines.
In March, the government announced plans to hire 750 inspectors in 2026 to operate at ports, border posts, and conservation areas, strengthening enforcement to prevent deforestation and illegal exploitation of forest resources.
“An additional 750 inspectors are planned, not only for ports and borders but also to increase our monitoring capacity at logging sites and conservation areas, which have become increasingly targeted due to the presence of virgin forests and valuable timber. The goal is to ensure better control in these zones,” said Emília Fumo, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, and Fisheries, as cited by Lusa.
A report from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), analyzing the period from 2019 to 2022, revealed that in 2022 deforestation — covering various types of forest — decreased by 31% compared to the previous year, amounting to 209,464 hectares.
Source: Diário Económico
