Understanding how land use and its changes affect forest cover and carbon stocks is fundamental to developing sound REDD+ delivery options. A study in Manica Province, a REDD+ pilot area for Mozambique, suggests biomass and forest carbon fell substantially between 2007 and 2010. The study combined radar remote sensing information (to measure changes in biomass and carbon stocks) with field investigations (to establish land use and land cover changes, and their causes). Small-scale agriculture is responsible for nearly half of the loss.

Agriculture is an important engine for economic growth in Africa, but effective agricultural strategies to support rural development and poverty alleviation are scarce. State investment in the small-scale farming sector is minimal and the entrepreneurial family farm sector remains underrepresented. Meanwhile, large-scale land investments are advocated as means to bring capital to rural areas and stimulate development.

For two reasons the miombo woodlands of eastern and southern Africa provide an important opportunity for developing pro-poor payments for avoided deforestation and degradation. Firstly, there is strong scientific evidence that the loss of woodlands is associated with a decline in livelihoods. Secondly, there are two decades of successful community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in the miombo region.

Under Mozambique’s Constitution and Land Law (1997), communities may legally govern their lands and natural resources according to customary norms and practices, so long as local customs do not contradict national law. However, rising land scarcity and associated increases in land value are leading some families to “reinterpret” custom as sanctioning the dispossession of widows from their marital lands.

Despite expanding policy commitments in many poor countries, health care is often a failure at the point of delivery. Lack of information, poor enforcement, and power dynamics prevent those whose rights have been violated from pursuing redress. In Mozambique, grassroots health advocates work to address this gap between policy and reality by blending approaches known as legal empowerment and social accountability.

In international debates about land governance, Mozambique is often mentioned as an example of a country with favorable framework for local communities to benefit from landbased investments. However, it is also one of the countries highlighted in land grab debates for being one of the top countries where foreign companies and national elites are acquiring large extensions of land. It is increasingly clear that in spite of the favorable legal framework and pro-poor policies, local communities are under stress.

This study examines the statutory recognition of customary land tenure in Botswana, Mozambique and Tanzania, which were chosen as case studies because of the diverse approaches to the issue they represent. Botswana's Tribal Land Act (1968) established a system of regional land boards and transferred the land administration and management powers of customary leaders to the boards, which originally included both customary leaders and state officials among their members.

The complex relationship between law, land rights and customary practices is increasingly recognized as foundational to formulating successful development policies. Similarly, the essential role of women’s economic participation to development and the current trend of gender discriminatory land and inheritance customary practices have prompted domestic civil society organizations in developing countries to use statutory provisions guaranteeing gender equality to improve women’s land tenure security.

This Country Programming Framework (CPF) sets out three government priority areas to guide the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) partnership and support with the Government of Mozambique – bringing together innovative international best practices and global standards with national and regional expertise during 5 years from 2016 to 2020.

For over a decade ActionAid Mozambique (AAMoz) has worked with strategic partner organisations in the south and north-east of the country to promote agroecology initiatives with 80 farmers’ associations consisting of over 8000 farmers. 96% of the members are women and 30% of them young people, cultivating an average of 90.9 hectares per association and striving to improve agricultural production.

The FAO-EU FLEGT Programme has committed to a significant contribution to global Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) achievements in 2017 under the Phase III programme. This year’s objectives were to increasingly operationalize the projects that were endorsed under the first two calls for proposals in the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) countries and ensure productive results from these projects that will have a positive effect on the VPA processes.

Mozambique is experiencing increased privatesector investment, to assist in meeting the country’s its development objectives. The government has intensified efforts to attract foreign direct investment, to improve Mozambique’s socioeconomic status and alleviate poverty. However, adequate legal frameworks are necessary to align investments with national priorities and to ensure compliance with environmental and social safeguards.