The Mozambican government already has 153 million dollars of the 500 million needed for the sustainable and integrated management of the country's Miombo Forest.

The information was given yesterday, Thursday (20), in Maputo, by the Minister of Land and Environment, at the opening of the fifth Coordinating Council of the institution, where she announced that a new conference on the Miombo is to be held in New York.

"We are currently in the process of mobilizing the missing 347 million dollars from international partners," said Ivete Maibaze, adding that the sector she heads has managed to meet the targets set for the 2020-2024 five-year period in 70%.

Quoted by Radio MozambiqueShe stressed that the sector is committed to monitoring forestry areas and combating poaching.

During the Coordinating Council of the Ministry of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibaze launched the National Historical Vegetation Map and Ecosystem Assessment, a briefing on the key areas of Biodiversity and the Red List of Species and Ecosystems.

According to the "updated historical vegetation map", which portrays a total of 162 ecosystems considered to be "rich in biodiversity and fundamental to the subsistence of the majority of the rural population", there are strong threats that place four percent of them in a state classified as critically endangered.

The same assessment puts nine percent of the mapped ecosystem in a state of "danger" and "32% in a vulnerable state".

Among the critical, endangered and vulnerable stages are 45% of ecosystems, which in nominal terms represents around 70 ecosystems, a picture described by the Minister for the Earth and Environment as worrying.

"These ecosystems play a crucial role in retaining water, combating droughts and desertification, as well as regulating floods and protecting against the temperatures and cyclones that have battered the country. That's why their conservation, restoration and protection are a national imperative," said the source.

Among the main threats pointed out by the mapping are "population growth, fires, deforestation, mining and infrastructure".