MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
The mission for Coutada 5 reflects the magnitude of the
task facing the company and is as follows:
To plan, develop, manage and utilise Coutada 5 in
such a manner that the seriously depleted biodiversity
resources will be rehabilitated over time, and in line
with relevant Mozambican laws and policies, thus
allowing sustained consumptive and non-consumptive use
of these resources, whilst at the same time pursuing
sustainable agricultural developments on certain
sections of the Coutada, and simultaneously
acknowledging the need to involve the local communities
in a positive, meaningful and mutually beneficial
manner.
To realise the mission, a comprehensive set of
objectives and philosophies were drawn up and are in the
process of being implemented. They are directly based on
Mozambique's national objectives for the conservation of
biodiversity, adapted to the local realities and needs
in Coutada 5, and constitute the focus for the
rehabilitation and development of Coutada 5
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DIVERSITY OF OBJECTIVES AND PHILOSOPHIES
The diversity of the project objectives and
philosophies that follows, is a reflection of the
complexity of what needs to be done and of the magnitude
of the venture. Even though the Coutada has been in
existence for decades, the current natural resources
baseline is such that the re-development will
effectually start from scratch. To rehabilitate such a
huge protected area is almost a daunting task,
especially since the rehabilitation has officially been
entrusted solely to a private investor. Furthermore, it
must be borne in mind that a multitude of social aspects
and socio-economic realities need to be incorporated.
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BIODIVERSITY-BASED CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES
- Objective1 (National objective 1.1):
To identify and analyse the various components of
biodiversity, their actual relationship in the
ecosystem, as well as processes and activities that
may negatively impact on them.
- Objective 2. (National objective 1.2):
To determine the conservation status of the species
in the Coutada, and to identify and implement
appropriate rehabilitation measures
- Objective 3 (National objective 1.4):
To determine the conservation status of the
Coutada's different habitats, and to identify and
implement appropriate conservation and management
measures
- Objective 4 (National objective 1.7):
To identify, recover and rehabilitate
degraded habitats and to develop and implement
species recovery plans
OBJECTIVES RELATING TO THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF THE
COMPONENTS OF BIODIVERSITY
- Objective 5 (National objective 2.1):
To promote and ensure the sustainable and
integrated use of flora resources, ensuring benefits
for those involved
- Objective 6 (National objective 2.2):
To promote and ensure the sustainable use
of the agricultural resources, with the accent on
implementing new technologies for smallholder
agricultural production systems
- Objective 7 (National objective 2.3):
To rehabilitate the denuded wildlife of
Coutada 5, and to guarantee the subsequent
sustainable use thereof
- Objective 8 (National objective 2.4):
To promote the sustainable use of fisheries
resources within the ambit of Coutada 5, with the
accent on freshwater systems
OBJECTIVES RELATING TO THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF THE
COMPONENTS OF BIODIVERSITY
- Objective 5 (National objective 2.1):
To promote and ensure the sustainable and
integrated use of flora resources, ensuring benefits
for those involved
- Objective 6 (National objective 2.2):
To promote and ensure the sustainable use
of the agricultural resources, with the accent on
implementing new technologies for smallholder
agricultural production systems
- Objective 7 (National objective 2.3):
To rehabilitate the denuded wildlife of
Coutada 5, and to guarantee the subsequent
sustainable use thereof
- Objective 8 (National objective 2.4):
To promote the sustainable use of fisheries
resources within the ambit of Coutada 5, with the
accent on freshwater systems
TOURISM OBJECTIVES
- Objective 9 (National objective 2.6):
To ensure that a viable tourism industry is
developed, based on the sustainable use of the
biodiversity, and with a regional developmental
accent
SOCIAL OBJECTIVES
- Objective 10: To ensure that
the implementation of all the abovementioned
objectives and the following philosophies,
irrespective of their nature, take the needs and
aspirations of the local communities wherever
possible and/or feasible, into consideration. The
local communities residing in the Coutada would need
to be accommodated in a fair and equitable manner
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL OBJECTIVES
- Objective 11: To ensure that
the development and rehabilitation of Coutada 5
will, in the long run, be in line with universally
accepted principles pertaining to profitability of a
private-sector venture
- Objective 12: To ensure that
the development and rehabilitation of Coutada 5,
take place in such a manner that it would be
conducive to enlist the aid of appropriate donor
agencies
- Objective 13: To ensure that
the standards applying to the development and
rehabilitation of Coutada 5, are at such a high
level that the moral (and hopefully even more
direct) support of the Government of Mozambique,
would be forthcoming
- Objective 14: To operate the
finances of Coutada 5 in line with Generally
Accepted Accounting Practises
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MANAGEMENT AND CO-MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHIES, AS
APPLIED TO COUTADA 5
MANAGEMENT
No protected area such as Coutada 5 can be successfully
developed and rehabilitated unless the costly venture is
managed effectively, and in line with modern management
practises and principles. The primary focus of
management attention will be focused on realising the
objectives set out above. To this must be added the
management of the multitude of secondary tasks and
activities that will be outlined in the various
operational plans.
Management intervention would need to constantly adapt
to changes in both the macro- and micro-environments
pertaining to Coutada 5. This will entail practising the
universally accepted principle of adaptive management,
in other words the ability to apply sound management
principles, whilst at the same time being flexible
enough to accommodate changes.
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CO-MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY-BASED NATURAL
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
All the biodiversity conservation objectives of
Mozambique, as well as a host of other official policies
dealing with the various fields of the country's social
fabric, have, to a greater or lesser extent, a direct
bearing on the development and rehabilitation of Coutada
5. The Company thus will need to acknowledge the need to
regard the local communities as active long-term
partners in the venture. Much has been published
world-wide on community-based natural resources
management (CBNRM), which will essentially form the
guiding principle of the involvement of the people
living in Coutada 5. However, given the nature of the
Coutada 5 concession and the contract with the
government, such a CBNRM-principle will have to, of
necessity, lean towards the responsibility, and indeed
the accountability, of the Company to not only take the
lead, but to remain, in all respects, the prime force
behind the venture.
There are numerous benefits to be had by involving the
local communities. First and foremost is that a virtuous
circle will be established, in which the local people
become volunteer guardians of the project. Such a
guardianship will be based on the fact that Coutada 5
will, if the principle is implemented correctly, be
viewed by them as being co-owners of the venture. As
soon as they regard the development as 'ours;, and not
merely as another impingement on their rights by a group
of foreigners (the 'theirs'), the battle for the minds
of the people will have been won.
In selecting a strategy, the Company chose a combination
between the pure top-down approach where the company
will essentially drive the project, and a bottom-up
approach, where the local people have a strong and
continuing involvement. The model selected by the
Company for Coutada 5, harness the advantages of both
systems by going as far along the path of full
partnership as is consistent with the achievement of the
Coutada 5 objectives. On a continuum ranging from full
Company control on the one hand to full control by the
community on the other, the Company model would lie at
about a value of 8:10, with the envisaged inputs from
the company being 8, and the expected inputs of the
community at 2.
This formal sharing of authority and responsibility
between the Company and the local people, will entail a
system of joint management of the renewable resources of
the Coutada, and is universally known as the principle
of co-management, with important elements of the system
of community-based natural resources management
included. The terrestrial biodiversity management plans
for Coutada 5, as well as in the numerous operational
plans, will build on the proven elements of a management
partnership: firstly the context for the development
partnership will need to be established, then followed
by launching the partnership by means of an acceptable
process, followed by an agreement that will clarify all
the essential elements of management (and their
acceptance by the people), and finally the management
structure or institution that will be set up to
implement the agreement. However, the Company realises
that in practice, and notwithstanding the abovementioned
principles and philosophies, direct and ongoing
community involvement may be extremely difficult to
establish and to maintain. In this instance the
principle of co-management may thus of necessity be
watered down to only involve long-term consultation and
the ongoing sharing of information, thus arriving at the
abovementioned ratio of 8:2.
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