Maputo, 22 September 2023 – UN-Habitat and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are strengthening the institutional and technical capacities of local government officials to build climate resilience in the Greater Maputo Area (GMA) of Mozambique.
The Maputo metropolitan area is experiencing rapid urbanization, influenced by population and economic growth, placing increased demand on natural resources. The new project will be focusing on ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) solutions, which are receiving increasing attention from the international community and are defined as the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to climate change.
The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF), implemented by UNEP and executed by the Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA) with support from UN-Habitat on policy planning and capacity building.
On 22 September, an induction workshop was held to launch a special component of the project that focuses on building institutional and technical capacity, which will result in the development of up-to-date realistic and ambitious local adaptation plans for 5 districts and municipalities of the Greater Maputo Area (GMA).
During her intervention, the National Director for Environment, Guilhermina Amurane, stressed that EbA has the potential to serve as a basis for learning in the country and in this new approach to climate adaptation and reducing risks associated with climate effects, emphasizing:
"With the implementation of this project, the institutional and technical capacity of municipal and district authorities will also be strengthened to assess the impact of EbA in urban, peri-urban and coastal zones in the Greater Maputo area."
Amurane recalled that the effects of climate change represented a major challenge for ecosystem adaptation in Mozambique and emphasized the importance of EbA in a context where ecosystems play a vital role in the sustainability of families.
"Looking at the Greater Maputo region, these ecosystems contribute to productivity and the preservation of biological diversity, as well as serving as a source of livelihood for communities living in these areas, which are vulnerable to environmental variations, especially climate change", she said.
The 2022 Global Risk Report lists Mozambique as the seventh country in the world and the first in Africa with a high risk of disasters. The Head of the UN-Habitat Programme in Mozambique, Wild Do Rosário, reaffirmed the continued support to the government in various strategic axes:
"UN-Habitat and UNEP will continue to support the Government of Mozambique and promote transformative changes in cities and human settlements through the sharing of experiences, technical assistance and collaborative actions to ensure that no one and no place is left behind", he declared.
For further information about the project, officially titled Building Resilience in the Coastal Zone through Ecosystem-based Adaptation Approaches in the Greater Maputo Area, please contact Eva.Comba@un.org
