The Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Conservation of Biodiversity – BIOFUND, approved, during its 23rd meeting, held on 25 November 2021, the plan of activities and the budget for 2022, which envisages the allocation of around 14 million USD for the conservation of biodiversity.

This budget  represents an increase of almost double the amount of money spent in 2021, and will mostly be channelled to increasing protection of the natural resources in the Conservation Areas.  78% of these programs are financed by various partners (such as World Bank, European Union, German Financial Cooperation through KfW, AFD, UNDP, USAID and others) while the remaining 22% will be financed from the Foundation’s own funds.

In addition to financing operational costs of 22 Conservation Areas, BIOFUND envisages for 2022, building the capacity of 40 professionals of the National System of Conservation Areas, launching 45 pre-professional internships, 20 scholarships at master’s degree level, 9 research subventions, and 40 scholarships for mid-level technical and professional education under the Mozambique Conservation Leadership Programme (PLCM), the “PROMOVE Biodiversidade” programme and the MozNorte Project.

A further outstanding area that will mark the activity of BIOFUND in the conservation sector in 2022 concerns exploring the potential of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, a financial mechanism for mobilising private sector financial resources to protect and restore coral reefs.

In 2021, despite the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, BIOFUND implemented 42 projects to support the protection of biodiversity, and activities with the communities in 31 of the country’s Conservation Areas, through the support of countless partners, as well as with its own funds. Cumulatively, it disbursed about 6 million US to the Conservation Areas.

Also in 2021, activities were undertaken to raise environmental awareness at national and international events, and about the importance of biodiversity, through biodiversity exhibitions, with the involvement of more than 2,000 people.  We highlight the organisation in 2021, for the first time in Mozambique, of the General Assembly of the Consortium of African Environmental Funds (CAFÉ), an event in which 32 countries and over 1,000 participants took part, the launch of the “PROMOVE Biodiversidade” Programme, and the extension of the Emergency BIO-Fund   which made it possible to guarantee 13,139,211 hectares of protected biodiversity in the country’s public and private Conservation Areas, which represents 63% of the total protected area in Mozambique.

With the sum of approximately 14 million USD, we hope in 2022 to significantly increase our activities in support of the conservation of biodiversity, so as to contribute towards improving the effective management of the Conservation Areas, and the consequent maintenance of species, habitats and ecosystems, in harmony with, and to the benefit of local communities.