The Stockholm+50 Conference brought together leaders and representatives of governments, companies, international organizations, civil society and young people for two days of climate talks in the Swedish capital earlier this month. Together, they sought to drive action towards a healthy planet for the prosperity of all and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. The Mozambican delegation at Stockholm+50 was represented by the Minister of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibase, who presented the results and good practices of the country in adapting and mitigating climate change.

H.E. Minister of Land and Environment of Mozambique, Ms. Ivete Maibase, during the opening of the Stockholm +50 Conference. Under the theme “Stockholm+50: A Healthy Planet for the Prosperity of All – Our Responsibility, Our Opportunity”, it intends to accelerate the implementation of the commitments of governments and the international community, especially in the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ambition for the environment

Led by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, the meeting provided a fundamental opportunity to reinforce the response to what he calls the triple planetary emergency of “climate disturbance, pollution and loss of biodiversity”.
While Guterres praised the host country's commitment to zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2045 the UN leader stressed that even “the most ambitious actions to reduce emissions this decade will not erase the fact that the situation is already bad – and in many cases and places, irreversible”.

Secretary-General António Guterres (right) speaks at Stockholm+50 in Sweden, along with UN Environment Chief Inger Andersen and General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid.
Photo: UN Environment

The Conference, which took place under the theme “A Healthy Planet for the Prosperity of All – Our Responsibility, Our Opportunity”, aimed to accelerate the implementation of the commitments of governments and the international community in the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, including sustainable recovery from on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

Mozambique’s Participation

The Mozambican delegation is headed by the Minister of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibase. Her presence was preceded by national consultation meetings held in Maputo last May, to reflect on the challenges of environmental sustainability and collect concrete contributions for a more integrated and transversal future action that protects the environment and restores of nature.
In her speech, Ivete Maibase highlighted Mozambican actions that contribute to the protection of the environment. She also mentioned the results of the national consultation meetings, which include proposals for urgent actions to be taken to achieve the environmental sustainability agenda and build resilience in the face of extreme events associated with climate change.

Munhamane Primary School in Massingir district was rehabilitated in a climate resilient manner through the LoCAL Program after a strong tropical storm passed through the district in 2021. The project was identified, prioritized and selected by the community itself through participation on the local consultative council. Photo: UNCDF/Mbuto Machili

Financing for climate change adaptation

In a side event, Minister Ivete Maibase participated in a high-level discussion on how to accelerate policy and investment changes for an inclusive, green and systemic socio-economic transformation that creates new paths for sustainable development and ensures prosperity for all within planetary boundaries.

“Over the last 20 years, Mozambique has been more and more frequently affected by natural disasters due to its geographic location and as a consequence of climate change,” said Minister Ivete Maibase.
“With the support of important Partners, my country is implementing the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility, widely known as LoCAL, with the aim of supporting, among others, the construction of resilient infrastructures capable of withstanding natural events”, she continued.
“It is important to underline that despite the harmful effects of consecutive cyclones like Gombe, Idai and Kenneth that destroyed a lot of infrastructure, […] some of the infrastructure financed by climate fund initiatives like LoCAL and MERCIM, supported by UNCDF, are still standing; This is an excellent example that demonstrates the importance of access to climate funds”, stressed the Minister.

In addition to affecting around 730,000 people, Cyclone Gombe also destroyed important infrastructure in Nampula and Zambézia Provinces, part of the MERCIM Programme. Road damage is extensive, with around 1,000km of damage, including the destruction of a stretch of National Road 1 (EN1) isolating the central region from the rest of the country. Photo: INGD

As a Global Ambassador of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL), Mozambique's Minister of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibase, advocated for more funding for climate change adaptation.

In her intervention, Minister Ivete stated that “the increased availability of climate and environmental funds around the world urges beneficiary countries to improve their tracking tools and transparent mechanisms”.

Giving the example of Mozambique on improvements in management practices, the Minister of Mozambique commented on the establishment by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of a management and tracking system for government funds specifically related to the environment and climate change, also known as a budget codification system, through the strengthening of the State Financial Administration System (e-SISTAFE) also supported by the LoCAL Initiative.

“The Government of Mozambique believes that the system will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, linking government priorities to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as well as other global goals.”

The LoCAL mechanism decentralizes resources to the community level through local government's public finance management systems, ie e-SISTAFE, to finance localized and adaptable development infrastructure. These financial resources are managed, implemented and accounted for by decentralized governance structures and further strengthen government fiscal capacities to finance local adaptation.

“This project that built the new clinic is important for the community of Cunguma. Before that, the community had no help. Pregnant women had to give birth at home without adequate assistance or walk up to 50km to reach the nearest clinic. This community is surrounded by two rivers, which during the rainy season becomes isolated. When you're sick, you can't wait for the boat”, expressed Laila Agostinho Huô, member of the community council of Cunguma, District of Chicualacuala Gaza Province, about the infrastructure built through the LoCAL program. Photo: © UNCDF Mozambique/Helvisney Cardoso

LoCAL in Mozambique

LoCAL was launched in Cambodia and Bhutan in 2011, growing over ten years to become an international mechanism for implementing climate adaptation actions at the local level benefiting some 12.5 million people with 32 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Pacific designing or implementing their LoCAL actions.
Over seven years (2015 to 2022) of implementation in Mozambique, LoCAL has channeled US$25 million in funding for climate change adaptation in the country through local governments in the form of performance-based climate resilience grants used to deliver climate adaptation projects identified by the population itself.
The process of selection and prioritization of investment projects at the district level is carried out by local governments in consultation with the communities through the Local Consultative Councils. Projects reflect the priorities of local governments and communities and their voices.

Community members celebrate in Nangir village, Morrumbala District, Zambézia Province, after hearing the news that their village will receive a new health center following a decision by the District Consultative Council. The nearest health center is 18 km away. The frequent torrential rains caused by climate change make it impossible for residents to get there, even on foot. Photo: © UNCDF/Karel Prinsloo

Another specificity of LoCAL is its systemic approach and its proven scalability, which has allowed the mechanism to grow from two pilot countries in 2011 to 32 countries today, of which 26 are Least Developed Countries.
Mozambique has the largest funding portfolio among existing LoCAL countries and demonstrates the success of the systemic LoCAL approach and its proven scalability.

LoCAL in Mozambique is made possible thanks to the contributions and valuable partnership of the Government of Mozambique with the Governments of Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Catalonia and with the European Union Delegation via UNCDF technical assistance.

Farmer proudly shows the results of her harvest. She is one of many farmers benefiting from the new irrigation system that the community decided to install in their latest consultative council prioritization exercise in Jangamo District, Inhambane Province. Photo: © UNCDF/Helvisney Cardoso

For more information about LoCAL in Mozambique: www.uncdf.org/local