Mozambique fights poaching

PRIME Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario on March 16 urged the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) to step up the efforts to halt poaching, and illegal mining and logging in the country’s national parks and reserves, and other protected areas.

He was speaking in Maputo at the ceremony where Mateus Mutemba was sworn into office as the new general director of ANAC.

The Prime Minister said that ANAC should educate the communities living within conservation areas to respect and preserve the environment. Mitigating the conflicts between the communities and wildlife, he added, was one of the ways to conserve biodiversity and improve living conditions.

Rosario stressed that ANAC should administer the protected areas effectively and promote tourist facilities within them. He urged Mutemba to manage carefully the financial resources put at ANAC’s disposal, and to ensure regular communication with other ANAC staff, stimulating motivation and teamwork.

Mutemba said that he too was deeply concerned with the threat posed by poaching. The general lines which he intended to follow were “the preservation of our biodiversity, the generation of financial resources for our economy, and improving the living conditions of communities within and around the conservation areas”.