[{"bbox": [86, 155, 322, 186], "category": "Section-header", "text": "2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [86, 208, 240, 236], "category": "Section-header", "text": "2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [108, 256, 1133, 421], "category": "Text", "text": "Mozambique is one of the bottom ten countries in the world in terms of human development¹, aggravated by increasing inequality² including significant gender differences³ and substantial disparities between urban and rural areas and between north and south, with the former also affected by the armed violence in the Cabo Delgado province. The poverty rate is 64.6% and is highest in rural areas⁴. While progress has been made in recent years due to growth in emerging sectors (such as services and extractive industries), evidence shows that income distribution is increasingly unequal, undermining the benefits of the fragile economic growth."}, {"bbox": [108, 432, 1133, 595], "category": "Text", "text": "Mozambique has a coastline of around 2 800 km, extensive coastal and oceanic waters with 540 000 km2 of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and inland waters of around 13 000 km² including Lake Niassa, Lake Cahora Bassa and several major river estuaries. The country's coastline and marine areas are globally recognised for their biological richness and ecological value, and marine resources support thousands livelihoods, ensuring economic value-added and food security⁵. However, the benefits flowing from coastal and ocean resources are under threat from population growth and disorderly economic development⁶."}, {"bbox": [108, 608, 1133, 822], "category": "Text", "text": "Mozambique is also one of the most risk-prone countries in the world to weather-related hazards and to the impact of climate change⁷. It experiences floods, droughts and cyclones with increasing regularity, and suffers from coastal erosion, rising water levels and changes in oceanographic conditions such as temperature rises, salinity and acidification. These negatively impact sensitive habitats such as coral reefs and seagrass meadows and subsequently fisheries production and livelihoods. Mozambique's fragile socio-economic conditions, high levels of poverty and underdevelopment, further intensify sensitivity to the effects of climatic extremes, particularly for women, for whom agriculture and fish processing and trading is the main activity in most coastal communities, and for all those whose livelihoods depend on the coastal marine ecosystem."}, {"bbox": [108, 834, 1133, 965], "category": "Text", "text": "In seeking to ensure a sustainable marine ecosystem, GoM has developed a Marine Spatial Plan (POEM), put in place a network of marine protected areas, enacted biodiversity offset legislation and agreed a number of fisheries-specific management plans. In addition, national and local authorities are supporting efforts to introduce local area co-management arrangements and no-take reserves, working through local fisheries co-management structures (CCPs)."}, {"bbox": [108, 979, 1133, 1298], "category": "Text", "text": "The Government is also responding to climate change with the main internal programmatic instrument being the National Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Strategy 2013-2025 (ENAMMC). An updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), closely aligned to the ENAMMC, was submitted to UNFCCC secretariat prior to COP26. The Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA) has been leading the elaboration of Local Adaptation Plans (LAPs) in close cooperation with districts and municipalities. The GoM is also working to support the targets and goals of the COP15 UN Biodiversity Agreement. The GoM has recognised the need for, and benefits of, taking an integrated and coordinated approach to development and management of blue economy maritime sectors, given the large number of areas and Ministries involved in the blue economy. The Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries (MIMAIP) has been mandated to lead on blue economy development, with MIMAIP in turn delegating some responsibility to ProAzul. GoM has also established an inter-Ministerial and departmental working group on the blue economy and is supporting the development of a Blue Economy Strategy (EDEA). Other relevant policies and strategies include The National Development Strategy (2015-2035), the Government"}, {"bbox": [86, 1338, 800, 1363], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹ Ranked 185 out of 191 in the 2021 Human Development Index. [Human Development Index](https://hdpi.org)"}, {"bbox": [86, 1367, 1137, 1392], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² Gini-coefficient rose to 0.54 (2014/15) from 0.47 (2008/9), placing Mozambique among the most unequal countries in Sub-Saharan Africa."}, {"bbox": [86, 1395, 1033, 1420], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ The 2021 the female HDI value for Mozambique was 0.428 in contrast with 0.464 for males. [Human Development Reports](https://data.human development.org)"}, {"bbox": [86, 1423, 591, 1448], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ USD 2.15 per day poverty line, at Poverty | Data (worldbank.org)"}, {"bbox": [86, 1451, 853, 1476], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ Total fisheries production in 2020 was 435 000 tonnes, with 413 000 tonnes from the artisanal sector"}, {"bbox": [86, 1479, 1143, 1573], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ As matter of example, reports suggest that the area of mangrove cover in the country declined by nearly 50% since 1990 (Macamo, 2021, FNDS, 2021) and that most fisheries resources in the country are either fully-exploited or over-exploited (MIMAIP data from Boletim Estatístico da Pesca e Aquacultura 2006-2017 indicate that 10 of 14 industrial and semi-industrial fisheries are optimally, fully or overexploited, with only 4 being defined as moderately exploited)."}, {"bbox": [86, 1576, 1143, 1647], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ The 2021 Global Climate Risk Index (Germanwatch) noted that Mozambique was the country most affected by the impacts of extreme weather events in 2019 (due to tropical cyclone Idai). In the long-term climate risk index covering the period 2000 to 2019, Mozambique is ranked as the 5th most affected country."}, {"bbox": [1038, 1682, 1143, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 25"}]