Mozambique is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of mineral resources, but also a Least Developed Country with high rates of poverty and extreme poverty. Transforming mining resources into human and social capital, while minimizing environmental and social harm and maximizing respect for human rights, is one of the most pressing development challenges facing the country. For Mozambicans to benefit from mining, a robust legal, institutional and political framework must be put in place to ensure participation, accountability and adherence to international standards in the governance of the sector. This can only be achieved by strengthening rights-based governance systems, including by fostering transparency and an active and informed citizenry, and by developing strong accountability mechanisms.
This story is part of a series from the 2018 Annual Report of the joint Swedish Environmental Protection Agency - UNDP Environmental Governance Programme (EGP). The EGP supports resource-rich countries to integrate environment and human rights into the governance of the mining sector.
In 2018 the EGP was able to work with the key decision makers in Mozambique’s mining sector, namely: the National Directorate on Environment and AQUA at the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development; the National Institute of Mining and the National Directorate of Planning and Cooperation at the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy; and the National Human Rights Commission.
EGP’s work in 2018 focused on addressing individual and institutional capacity deficiencies and inadequate design and enforcement of policy; economic regulatory and accountability frameworks; and the capacity for effective interministerial coordination in advancing a coherent environmental agenda.
In 2018 the EGP initiated collaboration with AQUA and Source International, aiming to support the establishment of Participatory Environmental Monitoring Committees (PEMCs) in key resource-rich provinces of Mozambique, which can be an effective way to improve the transparency and accountability of the mining sector and reduce environmental and social conflicts.
In this regard, the EGP facilitated a technical mission to Tete province on 12–18 August 2018, which undertook a needs assessment and identified key partners for the creation of PMECs. The EGP also supported AQUA and Source International to provide training on water quality monitoring to six communities. Training has also been provided to the national monitoring agency and local governments to support these community-driven citizen science initiatives.
Mozambique's National Mining Institute (INAMI/Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy) has recently launched a public awareness-raising campaign about environmental governance and human rights protection in the mining sector, as part of the EGP project in Mozambique.
In 2018 the EGP supported an evaluation of the applicability of the transfer of 2.75 percent of mining revenue to local communities, with case studies carried out in the resource-rich provinces of Inhambe, Nampula and Tete.
The evaluation exercise was conducted from August to November, and the main recommendations were the need to harmonize procedures for the allocation of resources to communities and ensuring that the beneficiaries are part of the consultative process. This was a pioneer step towards sharing economic benefits more equitably, as the country is currently reviewing the sharing of economic revenues from the mining sector.
The EGP convened in 2018 a roundtable with the members of the Advisory Board of the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy; members of the Board of Directors of the National Directorate of Geology and Mines and the National Directorate of Planning and Cooperation; the provincial directors of the Ministry Mineral Resources and Energy; and mining companies and owners of local mines.
The main objective of the roundtable was to strengthen the dialogue with the mine holders and disseminate their rights and obligations in view of the approved laws. A major result of the roundtable was the adoption of a series of ten commitments by the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy regarding the full implementation of the existing mining regulatory and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
Responding to a demand from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, the EGP has facilitated a training workshop for IT analysts and technicians from Mozambique’s provinces and central government that are directly involved in the mining licensing process. The training sessions aimed at ensuring that all government technicians involved in the licensing process have the same level of understanding and knowledge about the software in use and the steps in order to evaluate the mining application submitted by private companies. The topics covered during the training included: mining certificates, global procedures and management of documents, management of passwords and security.
"The EGP has helped me understand the negative environmental and social impacts of mining exploitation in my country and other programme countries. I’m giving my opinion differently now when reviewing environmental study reports. Even my boss said, ‘I see something different when I read your comments'".
Technician from AQUA; interview from 14 May 2018
"The EGP is a good opportunity for all institutions to sit together, build synergies, share resources and try to find solutions. The EGP’s learning environment and methodology has allowed us to speak freely and openly. We have the space to explain and share our ideas. We materialized our learning from [other programme countries] and introduced a transparent process to make people know about our work, procedures and duties when applying for [mining] licenses".
Elsa Alfai, Head of Department, Mozambique’s Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy; interview from 14 May 2018
Mozambique joined the EGP in 2014. The EGP is implemented by UNDP Mozambique in collaboration with national partners, including:
The EGP focal point at UNDP Mozambique is Manuela Muianga.
© 2026 Environmental Governance Programme (EGP)
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