Monitoring the deforestation dynamics on the Gilé National Park and its surroundings in Mozambique

Context and activities carried out in the area

The ACAMOZ 2 project is the continuation of an initial project funded by AFD from 2019 to 2023 and aims to improve the competitiveness, sustainability and public governance of the nut sub-sector (cashew and macadamia) in Mozambique.

Targeting the Zambezia province, the project combines an institutional support for the National Almond Institute (IAM, IP), which is responsible for supporting and regulating the sector, technical and agricultural experiments at the local level with producer organisations to support the ecological transition of these value chains, support for family farmers to guarantee them decent incomes, and targeted support for the Gilé National Park (PNAG) to strengthen biodiversity protection in these ecologically diverse territories.

Since 2019, Nitidæ has been supporting small cashew nut producers, and during the last cashew season in 2024, 90 producer organisations have been supported (informal groups, associations, cooperatives and Natural Resource Management Committees) and sold nearly 500 tonnes of high-quality raw nuts, negotiating more favourable prices than individual producers (compared to 12 producer organisations and 27 tonnes of cashew nuts back in 2019).

To go further, to enable the renewal of the "cashew capital" and the exploitation of land already opened up by producers, our technical teams in the field are assisting with the planting of new cashew trees specifically on degraded land, thus avoiding the expansion of cashew cultivation into forest areas and the Gilé National Park.

Hence, to facilitate the monitoring of these plantations and deforestation, the N'Lab has produced a land use map for 2023 (Land Use Land Cover Map).

Gilé National Park: An inspiring model of sustainable land management

To produce the 2023 land use map, we targeted six districts of the Zambezia province, where local communities depend mainly on smallholder farming for their livelihoods.

Given that the activities of the ACAMOZ 2 project are focused on the buffer zone of the Park and in the areas of intensive cashew nut production (Gilé and Pebane districts), the inclusion of the districts of Maganja da Costa, Mulevala, Alto Molocué and Mocuba in the land use mapping analysis aims to provide essential information to the PNAG and its co-manager, FFS-IGF, to better understand the landscape dynamics and assess the risks of conflict between human populations and wildlife, particularly in the western part of the park, where elephants and buffalo frequently cross park boundaries.

Figure 1 : 2023 Land Use Land Cover Map

• Land use classes: the map identifies 12 land use classes. Approximately 50% of the study area is covered by Miombo forests, while 23% corresponds to cultivated areas.

Figure 2 : Illustration of land use classes observed in the field. 1-Miombo forests; 2-Degraded/secondary forests; 3-Fallow land; 4-Swamps; 5-River (park boundary) with rocky outcrops on the banks; 6-Dambo in the middle of the forest; 7-Sesame cultivation; 8-Cassava cultivation; 9-Cultivation area in the middle of the park; 10-Grassland, abandoned cultivation area; 11-Rock outcrop; 12-Bare soil, secondary road to Namurrua

• In collaboration with the PNAG Community Department: Natural Resource Management Committees (CGRN) have been highlighted on the map. This will enable joint monitoring of these CGRNs during the joint sale of cashew nuts or the planting of cashew trees.

Figure 3 : Gilé National Park Land Use Land Cover map, with highlighted CGRNs

• Discussions on land use planning: the land use map will enrich discussions on land use planning, another key activity of the ACAMOZ 2 project, as well as on the Coastal Livelihoods and Climate Resilience project from the mozambican government (MCC-CLCR).