Start of the Sustainable Livelihood Development Program in the Gorongosa National Park - Mozambique
Start of the Sustainable Livelihood Development Program in the Gorongosa National Park
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Mozambique, in partnership with the Gorongosa Restoration Project (GRP), officially launched on the 23rd of November the Program for the Development of Sustainable Livelihoods for Communities in the Sustainable Development Zone of Gorongosa National Park (SLDP Gorongosa). The program has funding of 20 million Euros and will run for five years (2022-2027) and should cover 45,000 direct beneficiaries, with a focus on women and young people.
Improvement of socio- economic conditions
The implementation of the SLDP Gorongosa will be carried out by the GRP, with the NGOs Right To Play (RTP) and Resilience BV, through its subsidiary Resiliência Moçambique Lda, as partners.
The SLDP Gorongosa aims to contribute to the improvement of the socioeconomic conditions of the communities in the PNG Sustainable Development Zone, through the implementation of interventions that contribute to the increase of agricultural production, the improvement of nutrition indices, the supply of quality water and basic sanitation of the environment, as well as sexual and reproductive health promotion initiatives.
The program, with a special focus on women and young people, covers the districts of Cheringoma, Dondo, Gorongosa, Maringué, Muanza and Nhamatanda and will also contribute to reforestation and biodiversity conservation, thus forming part of the Mozambique Government's Development agenda.
The program has funding of 20 million Euros and will run for five years (2022-2027) and should cover 45,000 direct beneficiaries. 15,000 will be Family Sector Producers and 30,000 will be members of communities reached by awareness campaigns on matters of nutrition, WASH and SRHR.
Conservation and community development
The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Elsbeth Akkerman, present at the event stated that 'the Dutch Government's development strategy is based on the following pillars: Sustainable Development, Gender Equality, Youth Support, Food Security, Water and Climate and all of them are clearly aligned with the development strategy of the Government of Mozambique.'
On behalf of the GRP, Mike Marchington, Director of Finance & Planning, stated that 'the Program we launched today is yet another affirmation of our commitment to combine conservation and community development. Biodiversity protection, to be successful, must be an inclusive process, with the participation of all, where community participation must result in tangible benefits for them, making communities the greatest guardians of the ecosystem.'
'Finally, we want to state that, as a team, we are committed to the objectives of this program and to the rational use of the resources allocated to the SLDP by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands'.
At the end of the ceremony, the Secretary of State for the Province of Sofala, Stella da Graça Pinto Zeca, affirmed the Government's commitment to the success of the Program, recognizing that the Program is part of the Government's Plan and the Sustainable Development Objectives of the United Nations that the Government of Mozambique has ratified.