One Forest One Community for Food Security – Pilot Project in Gaza, Mozambique
Raimo Aly Baraca (Provincial Directorate of Agriculture in Gaza Province)

Mozambique has 40 million hectares covered by forest of which 9% in the Gaza province which is 3.7
million. The main forest type is Mopane and most forest products are timber, wood, charcoal, and poles
for local construction. The annual logging volume allowable of Gaza province is between 60,000 and114,000 cubic meters per year.

The district suffers a cyclic long drought period. The precipitation isless than or around 100 to 300 millimeters per year. The temperatures range from 34 to 40 degrees.

1Constrains: Mabalane is one of the districts which sustainable natural forest management is threatened due
to over exploration of charcoal and firewood production to supply the Maputo urban area. The number oflicenses is increasing.

From 2005, there were 80 licenses. In 2012, now we are talking around 200,

which we produce something like a 500,000 bags of charcoal per year which are supplied to Maputo.
There are many constrains associated with this over exploitation. One of the problems is limitation offinancial support, another one is number of rangers patrolling. We are talking about one guy patrolling
300 hectares of forest. Then, another problem which we are facing, it is a large market which is Maputo
and availability of Limpopo corridor railways and roads which would facilitate easy access to the charcoal.
We are also facing the problem of economic capacity for majority of consumer to alternative energy
sources. People, they are not able to pay for electricity and gas, that is why they are using charcoal in thisarea here. Another problem is high rate of unemployment and limited opportunity of cash income. We
have got people which are not working and they use forest as an alternative for a job.

This is Mozambique. I am working in Gaza province. Mabalane is where JICA is investing in theproject.
Challenges and efforts: you can see here, government policy protects forest and encourage and support2reforestation programs in degraded areas with the presidential initiative ‘One Child, One Tree, One
Community, One Forest.’‘One Forest One Community for Food Security’ is the name of the project. This is the area in which
JICA is investing.

These pictures are from the launching ceremony of the project.

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Our mission in this project is forest conservation, and our vision is the alternative livelihood andcarbon-offset business using cashew nut tree carbon sequestration, and the future vision is development ofREDD+ opportunities.
Project partnership; these are the partners which are working with us on this project: JICA, WFP 1, CFG 2,
INAS 3 which are responsible for planning, funding, food security and vulnerability assessment, technicalsupport, and monitoring; while the Mozambique state is responsible for technical support, coordination,
ground activities, and monitoring.

Launching of the project: first, we select the land and find the beneficiaries, and then second, we brought
the provincial governor to launch the project. Then, these are the communities which are involved withthis process of launching, and meeting with the community calling for responsibility of this project.
last one, it was the signing of the memo of understanding of the project.
1

United Nations World Food Programme: http://www.wfp.org/¥

2

Charity Finance Group: http://www.cfg.org.uk/

3

National Institute of Social Action of Mozambique: http://www.inas.gov.mz/4TheThis is the structure of ‘One Forest Community for Food Security,’ I mean the non-governmentorganizations involved in this process with the government towards the presidential initiative of ‘One
Child One Forest and One Leader One New Forest.’

Contract between carbon free consulting community and the local government: we invested so much inagro-forestry where cashew trees are planted in 200 hectares of community land, and we also developed
conversation agriculture in promotion of this area to educate people to change their mentality. Also, thearea where we planted this, where we established this project, we left something like 3 kilometers aroundeach project where the people have to conserve during next 20 years.

Expected results: we expect that this project will increase income generation alternatives for the local
communities by selling cashew nut products and also by contributing to food security by cashew nuts andWFP will be offering food for work.
practices.

Also, we promote agro-forestry with conservation agriculture

We promote fuel-efficient stoves.

We are expanding the areas supporting carbon offset

businesses and the protection of surrounding natural areas.

5Conclusion and recommendations: the charcoal production business leads forest deforestation and forest
degradation in Mozambique.

We are sure that providing energy source alternatives to charcoal insuburban and city areas will discourage the people from using charcoal as a business. The annual forest
lost in Mozambique is around 200 hectares whereas 200 families are beneficiaries in this project. We aresure that, with this project, we can change something in Mozambique if we really expanded. For thosetasks, we need more investment from Japan to help to expand the project.

Just for your information, last month, we had a flood in Mozambique where around 200,000 people weredisplaced and 50 people died there. Thank you very much.
Q&A Session(Q4: Riziki, Ardhi University 4) My question goes to Baraca and Takeshi. I was actually moved by theinitiatives that you have just explained and that you are taking about in these countries.

My question iswhat type of initiatives are you also carrying out along with the initiative that you are taking on to ensuresustainability?

We have actually seen in most cases that some of these projects, they end up failing just as4

http://www.aru.ac.tz/

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soon as the grant runs out. I think there is a need of real thinking on a paradigm shift where when yourfunds run out, something else will take it on. Maybe, if you can try to elaborate if you have any kind ofinitiative.

(Baraca) For our case, this is our first year.
something to keep the project sustainable.

Just to make sure that in the following years we haveThat is why we are putting cashew nut trees instead of naturalforest so that people can be busy with their cashew nut products for income; while that they can keep theforest for a long time without any exploiting for charcoal. That is what we will do.

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