17 December 2020 – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the National Directorate of Forestry (DINAF) carried out, in the second week of December, in Maputo, a training activity in licensing, inspection and identification of timber for government officials working directly to the forestry sector.

Benefited from the training key-actors working in provincial inspection departments, from DINAF, Provincial Services of Forestry and Wildlife (SPFFB), Tax Authority Officials (AT), National Agency for Environmental Quality Control (AQUA) and the Police. The main objective of this training was to promote the recycling and consolidation of knowledge on forestry products licensing, inspection and identification, in order to improve forest governance, specially compliance and sound interpretation of the legislation at all levels.

Imede Falume, the National Director of Forests, addressed the participants about the challenges the forestry sector faces and stated that: "This (training) is an opportunity for us to fine-tune our capabilities by ensuring that forest resources are managed in a rational and responsible way. We want to leave this room aware that the common procedures and norms for timber licensing, transportation, exportation and inspection are well known, understood and put in place, consistently, throughout the country".

Speaking as the leading entity in this training, FAO Forest Specialist, Calisto Vilanculo, said that: " this training will help to address challenges DINAF and the Provincial Services face in terms of institutional capacity for the management of forest resources and also mentioned that, in future opportunities, topics such as timber identification, inspection mandates and separation of powers at provincial level, should be given more importance, as they seem to be more relevant at the moment".

The main topics covered during the training were methods of manual and electronic identification of wood species; current situation and legal framework of the forestry sector; licensing (Legal Framework, Requirements, Procedures, Challenges) and participatory or multisectoral forestry inspection. The expectation is that from this point onward, there will be replications of this type of training at provincial level, and thereby improvements in licensing and inspection services, in general.

The training is part of MOZFIP´s component IV main outcome, which states that, at the end of the project: "DINAF staff and other stakeholders are empowered and have the knowledge, skills and capacity to manage the national forest endowment based on best forest management principles".