The Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA) considers it urgent to prepare inspectors, both physically and in terms of legislation, in order to respond to the dynamics imposed by the challenges of sustainable management of natural resources.
According to the MTA’s permanent secretary, Emília Fumo, in recent years there has been enormous pressure on natural resources, accompanied by growing demand for forestry products worldwide.
Apart from this, she said, the phenomenon of climate change has also added to the pressure on forests, increasing exploitation outside the recommended standards.
‘There is therefore an urgent need to prepare our inspectors physically and in terms of legislative matters on the appropriate forestry inspection process, in order to respond to the dynamics imposed by the current context and the challenges of sustainable resource management,’ she said.
Emília Fumo was speaking this Tuesday at the Practical Police School in Matalane, at the end of the second training course for forest inspectors. The training covered 60 individuals, but 59 came to an end because one was expelled for ‘inappropriate behaviour’.
The training, which lasted 30 days, involved 47 men and 12 women. Later this year, the National Agency for the Control of Environmental Quality, Public Institute (AQUA, IP) plans to train another 60 forestry inspectors.
AQUA recently hired one thousand (1000) middle and senior technicians to reinforce its staff of forest and wildlife inspectors.
However, these technicians lack the appropriate technical and tactical training, as well as the need to equip them with tools that will enable them to carry out activities as forest inspectors.
‘With these graduates, we hope to be able to reinforce the cadre of trained inspectors who will follow up on the reforms underway in the forestry sector. We plan to train another 60 forest inspectors later this year,’ said Emília Fumo, speaking on behalf of the Minister of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibaze.
This Tuesday’s event was attended by technicians from all over the country.
The heterogeneous composition of the group is, according to Emília Fumo, clear evidence of national unity and represents the consolidation of the Mozambican nation.
The solemn swearing in of the flag, the reading of the message and the consequent integration into the career of forestry inspector marked the event.
‘The oath to the flag that we have just witnessed reflects your commitment to the nation and its causes. It expresses your readiness to fulfil your obligations and your unconditional commitment to the defence and conservation of nature,’ said the MTA’s permanent secretary.
According to Emília Fumo, the oath to the flag is also ‘a promise to combat all criminal behaviour against our rich and abundant flora and fauna in the country.’
‘It is our conviction that the tools of instruction and training you have received here, as well as the specific and general subjects you have been taught, have ensured the acquisition of tactical-operational and technical-professional skills, both individual and collective, and qualify you for the mission you will have to fulfil from now on,’ she said.
Emília Fumo said that the challenges of ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources, in particular flora and fauna, are far from reaching the desired indicators, as illegal exploitation of forest and wildlife resources still prevails, which reduces the benefits of their utilisation by the state and local communities.
However, he noted that despite the challenges facing the sector, ‘we are pleased to note the determination and will to succeed, and we have seen positive results, with a reduction in the number of offences and environmental crimes in recent years.’
He explained that from 2020 to the first quarter of 2024, 8,681 forestry inspections were carried out, culminating in the imposition of 4,120 fines and the seizure of 30,710 cubic metres of logs and sawn timber of various native species.
In the five-year period from 2015 to 2019, 6,912 forestry inspections were carried out, culminating in the imposition of 5,848 fines and the seizure of 325,445 cubic metres of logs and sawn timber of various native species.
‘With this information we want to say that the incorporation and training of new inspectors will increase the coverage of the area to be inspected and contribute to the reduction of illegal exploitation of forest resources, as well as greater involvement of communities in the management and conservation of the environment, allowing the forest to be a source that guarantees well-being for Mozambicans,’ he said.
The training was funded by the World Bank, through the MozRural and MozNorte projects. The Practical Police School in Matalane, Maputo province, in the south of the country, provided its facilities and instructors, which were essential for the success of the training.
The event also saw the collaboration of MIOMBO’s team of consultants and technicians from AQUA – IP.
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