France has made available about two million euros to combat the effects of cyclones and climate disasters in Mozambique’s conservation areas, announced the French Development Agency (AFD).
The amount is intended to support projects of Mozambique’s Foundation for Biodiversity Conservation (Biofund), and an agreement was signed between the two parties.
“The fight for the preservation of biodiversity is a duty of each one of us, and in this respect I welcome the firm will of the Mozambican Government to better integrate conservation and biodiversity in the center of the country’s policies and strategies,” said David Izzo, French Ambassador to Mozambique, during the signing of the agreement, in Maputo.
“It is because of the Government’s commitment that about 25% of the national territory is today protected by the statute of conservation areas,” he concluded.
Mozambique is in the middle of a rainy and cyclonic season, which occurs between the months of October and April, with winds coming from the Indian Ocean and floods originating in the basins of southern Africa.
According to the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD), 440,000 people were affected by the storms and more than 56,000 homes were severely damaged or destroyed.
The most severe were storm Chalane at the end of the year and cyclone Eloise in January, with a total official tally of 19 deaths, but reports from local authorities point to twice that number.
