It took place Between the 25th and 26th of October in the City of Nampula, in the Province of Nampula, the training of technicians from the Provincial Services and Directorates of the Environment and of the Technical Commission for Environmental Impact Assessment of Zambézia and the north of the country on the new Ministerial Diploma of Biodiversity Offsets in Mozambique (Diploma 55/2022).

Biodiversity offsets are required by the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation (Decree 54/2015) and recently regulated by the Biodiversity Offsets Directive ( Ministerial Diploma No. 55/2022 of 19 May) . The approval of this legal instrument places Mozambique on the list of pioneer countries in Africa in the creation and consolidation of the legal framework for environmental impact assessment, promotion of the mitigation hierarchy and biodiversity offsets, as measures to harmonize economic development in the country.

The training was attended by 48 participants, including government technicians representing the National Directorate for the Environment (DINAB), Provincial Services for the Environment (SPA), Provincial Services for Economic Activities (SPAE), Provincial Services for Infrastructure (SPI), Provincial Directorates of Industry and Commerce (DPIC), Provincial Directorate of Territorial Development and Environment (DPDTA), Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism (DPCT), Provincial Directorates of the National Agency for Environmental Quality Control (AQUA), BIOFUND and WCS .

This national training program for government technicians and CTA members began in 2021 with initial modules in October and November, later in March 2022, entering a second phase from September, with training on the 20 and 21 in Maputo City, 11 and 12 October in Beira City and, finally, between 25 and 26 October in Nampula City, thus covering technicians from the environment sector and the Technical Assessment Commission from across the country.

This initiative is led by the National Directorate for the Environment (DINAB) with the support of the COMBO+ Program (partnership between the Government of Mozambique, WCS and BIOFUND) and with funding from AFD/FFEM, World Bank/MozBio 2 Project and UNDP/ BIOSFAC Project.

For more information on the Biodiversity Offset Program click here aqui