The Mozambican government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) plan to invest $15.4 million in strengthening wildlife conservation and supporting local communities in areas considered priority biodiversity zones in Mozambique, according to Lusa.
The investment will be channelled through the TRANSFORM project, launched this week in Maputo by the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) and the UNDP, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) under the GEF-8 Integrated Programme for Wildlife Conservation for Development.
Valued at $15.4 million and running until 2033, the project aims to promote more integrated and sustainable biodiversity management, strengthen community resilience, and generate environmental and socioeconomic benefits across the Gorongosa-Marromeu and Rovuma-Lugenda landscapes.
The initiative comes against a backdrop of mounting pressures on both landscapes, including deforestation, poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation, unsustainable land-use practices, and human-wildlife conflict. In response to these challenges, the project is expected to help reduce poaching and wildlife trafficking.
Beyond addressing these threats, the initiative envisages the conservation and restoration of ecological corridors and improved management of more than three million hectares of terrestrial landscapes considered priority areas for biodiversity in Mozambique.
According to a joint statement from ANAC and the UNDP, TRANSFORM aims to drive systemic change in the way wildlife conservation is planned, financed, and implemented in the country. The initiative is also expected to consolidate and expand results achieved through previous GEF investments.
“TRANSFORM recognises that biodiversity conservation is closely linked to the economic and social conditions of communities living in conservation landscapes,” the statement reads. The project therefore combines strengthened conservation area management with improved livelihoods, enhanced law enforcement, inclusive land-use planning, and more equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms tied to wildlife-based economies.
Mozambique hosts 14 major ecological regions, some of which are considered of global importance. The National Conservation Areas Network covers approximately 26% of the national territory and comprises 19 national parks and reserves, 20 official hunting concessions, and other conservation area categories, monitored by wildlife rangers.
ANAC Director-General Pejul Calenga said the initiative would help strengthen conservation and generate benefits for communities living within the project areas. UNDP Resident Representative in Mozambique Cleophas Torori described TRANSFORM as one of the largest GEF investments in the country and highlighted the ambition to achieve lasting impacts for the populations and ecosystems it covers.
Established in 1991, the GEF is an international partnership designed to finance projects addressing global environmental challenges. The organisation brings together 186 countries, international organisations, civil society, and the private sector.
Since its founding, the GEF has provided more than $25 billion in direct financing and mobilised more than $138 billion in co-financing for thousands of projects worldwide.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/04/economia/conservacao/governo-e-pnud-mobilizam-mais-de-15-m-para-reforcar-conservacao-da-fauna-bravia/
