The newly formed Mozambican Federation of Timber Operators (Fedemoma) unites 16 timber associations and consists of 600 organisations, including 100 forest concession holders and 180 charcoal producers.

Jorge Chacate, president of the Mozambican Association of Timber Operators (Amoma), announced the federation during the closing workshop of the project, “Improving forest governance through strengthening private sector representation in Mozambique”.

Representatives from the Ministry of Land and Environment, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), representatives from the delegation of the European Union (EU), the Embassy of Sweden, and a representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) attended the workshop.

Although forests occupy 40% of Mozambique’s land area, in 1998 the rate of deforestation was estimated to be 267 000 hectares per year. Illegal logging, and insufficient measures by the government to prevent overexploitation along the main economic corridors, and around urban centres is causing the deforestation.

The government estimates that national tax revenues derived from the forestry sector represent a mere 2% due to fiscal losses caused by illegal logging.

In 2018, the FAO, through the FAO-EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme joined forces with Amoma. The objective was to reduce the lack of coordination and representation mechanisms faced by Mozambique’s private forestry sector when trying to fulfil its role in forest governance. Fedemoma will encourage and facilitate dialogue between the public and private sectors.

Chacate said Fedemoma would provide timber producers, artisans, processors, and communities an opportunity to be heard.

The federation aims to:

• Foster dialogue and collaboration with the government to disseminate administrative, economic, and social best practices that promote sustainability in the forestry sector.
• Promote participation and capacity-building of the private sector in sustainable forest management and contribute to improved inspection and control of the timber trade.
• Private sector members will receive support in improving the compatibility of their practices with rules in place and sign agreement protocols that benefit their members.
• Develop a list of policy issues to discuss in the long-term with different stakeholders.

“We thank the EU and its member states for their assistance in improving forest governance through strengthening private sector representation in Mozambique,”. said the FAO representative Hernani Coelho da Silva.

“The project will contribute to increasing the capacity of forest operators whilst at the same time facilitating dialogue between the public and private sectors. We are confident that these actions will contribute to the sustainable management of forest resources, increase the economic value of forest products, and build a positive global image for Mozambique”.

Since 2016 the FAO-EU FLEGT programme has supported four projects in Mozambique, amounting to about USD400,000. The projects focused on reducing illegal logging through strengthening the private sector in sustainable forest use and supporting the role of local communities in the management and monitoring of forest resources.

The programme is a global demand-driven initiative that provides technical support and resources for activities that further the goals of the EU’s FLEGT action plan. It is funded by the EU, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and the Department for International Development of the UK.

Source: Mozambican Federation of Timber Operators