Fires and weak monitoring stall Mozambique’s reforestation drive
Mozambique has reforested only 58,000 hectares against a 1‑million‑hectare goal, hampered by fires and poor monitoring.
Mozambique’s reforestation efforts are being undermined by recurring fires and inadequate monitoring.
The nation ranks among the ten countries with the world’s highest deforestation rates, losing roughly 267,000 hectares (660,000 acres) of forest each year. The most severe losses occur in the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia and Manica.
A decade ago, Mozambique set an ambitious target to reforest 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) by 2030 and to restore 52,000 hectares (128,500 acres) annually from 2025 through 2029, backed by a budget of 105 billion meticais (US$1.65 billion). According to data compiled by Sá Nogueira Lisboa, a forestry professor at Eduardo Mondlane University, only 58,000 hectares (143,300 acres) have been reforested to date, a figure that includes tree plantations established before the million‑hectare goal.
Zambézia province, a central region that hosts one of the country’s key forest areas, plays a vital role in biodiversity conservation, water regulation, soil protection, carbon storage and community livelihoods. Yet it faces intense pressure from deforestation, suffering some of the nation’s steepest tree‑cover losses.
The Provincial Directorate of Territorial Development and Environment reports that between 2000 and 2024, Zambézia lost a cumulative 1.26 million hectares (3.11 million acres) of forest, representing about 19 % of its total forested area.
Replanting is essential to restore degraded landscapes, but insufficient follow‑up monitoring has wasted much of the effort. A technician from the District Service for Economic Activities was observed among trees with charred stems in the Tónduè Forest, illustrating the impact of fires on newly planted areas.
Without stronger oversight and fire prevention, Mozambique’s reforestation ambitions may remain out of reach.
