Mozambique is pointed out as one of the countries at high risk of food shortages, having registered the world's fourth largest increase in the level of food insecurity.

The finding was made by the Australian Institute of Economics and Peace, which analyzed 228 countries and territories. In its 'Ecological Threat Report (ETR)' it reveals a "cyclical relationship between ecological degradation and conflicts" such as civil war and terrorism, giving Mozambique as an example.

Inhambane is pointed out as one of the eight regions in the world (all located in sub-Saharan Africa) with the highest risk of "catastrophic" ecological shocks, reads the TSF online publication that cites the study.

On the other hand, countries like Angola and Guinea-Bissau are among the countries in the world most at risk of ecological shocks.

Angola (10th position) and Guinea-Bissau (16th) are threatened mainly by the risk of food shortages, rapid population growth, and water scarcity.

The institute, based in Australia, stresses that Angola will be one of the countries in the world where the risk of water scarcity rises the most by 2040 and whose population is expected to grow 132% by 2050 - the second fastest growing after Niger.

The ETR stressed that there are currently more than 1.4 billion people in 83 countries already at extreme risk of water scarcity.

The institute estimated that the number of undernourished people in the world increased 35% in 2021 to more than 750 million and is expected to continue to rise due to the impact of ecological degradation.

At least 41 countries currently face "severe food insecurity," something that is expected to worsen due to "increasing ecological degradation, inflation and war between Russia and Ukraine," ETR said.