Delivering technical assistance on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Mozambique

Establishing a Marine Conservation Leadership Academy

In partnership with Nautilus Conservation, JNCC have supported the development of a Marine Conservation Leadership Academy which delivers accredited professional vocational training for Mozambique’s MPA staff.  The Academy will enhance MPA practitioner skillsets and improve management effectiveness across Mozambique. By establishing a formal collaboration between Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC), Nautilus Conservation, and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA), OCPP has provided a long-term training initiative to support the professional development of MPA managers, aiming to equip managers with the skills and competencies required to achieve WIO-COMPAS accreditation.

The established Academy is framed by a capacity building strategy, aligned with ANAC and WIOMSA strategies, and includes ten training modules delivered by expert lecturers from across the WIO, covering topics from MPA regulatory frameworks and essential operating requirements to human dimensions of MPAs and sustainable fisheries management. The Academy was officially launched at an event in December 2025, where the MoU between ANAC, WIOMSA, and Nautilus Conservation was signed.

MPA Management Accreditation

To enable the MPA Leadership Academy graduates to achieve formal, regionally-recognised accreditation in MPA management, OCPP collaborated with WIOMSA to open regional certification opportunities to Mozambicans. Only one Mozambican had previously been certified as part of the Western Indian Ocean Certification of Marine Protected Areas Professionals (WIO-COMPAS) programme. To address this, OCPP supported WIOMSA to translate all WIO-COMPAS application and assessment materials to Portuguese and trained three Mozambican assessors to support future certification events. OCPP supported the first ever Portuguese-speaking certification event in April 2025, resulting in two MPA practitioners achieving Level 2 (MPA Manager level) accreditation. OCPP also supported WIOMSA to host a workshop to raise awareness of WIO-COMPAS, laying the groundwork for a Portuguese-speaking Level 1 certification event in 2026.

Integrating Sustainable Financing into MPA Management Planning

To further develop MPA management capacity in Mozambique, JNCC hosted a workshop in April 2025 to provide training on integrating sustainable financing into MPA management planning. In collaboration with BIOFUND, JNCC delivered training on creating, reviewing, and updating MPA management plans, innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms, funding opportunities and proposal writing. Follow-on training and reference resources were delivered to delegates, including the MPA Finance Toolkit developed by the Reef Resilience Network, which JNCC translated into Portuguese.

LMMA Exchange and Learning

JNCC partnered with Fundação Likhulu to host Mozambique’s first Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) exchange and knowledge exchange event, held in October 2025. The event took place at the facilities of the Associação de Gestão dos Recursos Naturais de Nhangau (AGRN) located in Sofala Province, bringing marine community conservationists from across Mozambique together. This event focused on sharing knowledge about establishing successful community managed LMMAs by creating partnerships, developing methods for sustainable financing and utilising regional frameworks to ensure effective management.

Technical Monitoring Skills Training

Following Maputo National Park’s recent UNESCO heritage status award, OCPP worked with Fundacao Likhulu to host practical training and refresher courses for Maputo National Park staff on boat and vehicle care and maintenance, search and rescue operations and monitoring artisanal and recreational fisheries.

A summary of the LMMA Exchange and training and technical monitoring and skills Maputo National Park training can be viewed here.

Coastal Ecosystem Monitoring and Research

In March 2025, OCPP hosted a week-long training workshop on coastal monitoring and research capacity building, facilitating knowledge exchange between participants and including training sessions from Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), Fundacao Likhulu, and SeyCAAT. These sessions focused on the importance of long-term monitoring and provided key focuses on specific habitats; seagrasses, coral reefs and mangroves, sharing knowledge on research methodologies which can be integrated into national strategies and action plans. The workshop also included a remote sensing and QGIS training session, showcasing how these tools can be applied to identify priority areas for protection, conservation and restoration of mangroves in Mozambique. The resources developed for this workshop can be found on JNCC's Resource Hub (GIS/Remote Sensing training in Mozambigue).

Supporting Network Expansion plan development

During the OCPP, JNCC worked in partnership the Wildlife Conservation Society and Mozambique Government to progress the Strategy and Action Plan for the Expansion of the Network of Marine Protected Areas and Other Effective Marine Conservation Measures in Mozambique. In March 2025, the OCPP supported three regional public consultation meetings, which gathered inputs from almost 200 stakeholders to feed into the plan and identify key areas for capacity building specific to the regions and organisations involved. Contributions gathered during these public consultations were integrated into the Strategy and Action Plan, highlighting the importance of OCPP’s role in supporting nation-wide partnerships. The technical report from this public consultation can be found in the Resources section.

Marine Biodiversity Conference

OCPP contributed to the Marine Biodiversity Conferences in Nacala in June 2024 and in Beira in September 2025. These national events showcase the importance of marine conservation and encourage the active participation of the community, especially young people. The Marine Biodiversity Conference series, led by BIOFUND, focuses on creating an inclusive and educational environment in Mozambique, strengthening the in-country marine biodiversity network.

Mozambique MPA Celebration Event

In 2025, JNCC co-hosted the first MPA Celebration Event in Mozambique in partnership with Fundação Likhulu. This provided an opportunity for key stakeholders in government, conservation and community-focused organisations to celebrate the ongoing work in the marine conservation sector within Mozambique and take a forward look at the opportunities for further development in the management of marine areas. OCPP supported MUVA in presenting the Gender in MPAs research findings, facilitating discussion among MPA practitioners around integrating local community voices into management planning.

As part of this celebration day, the OCPP supported the creation of a video which synthesis the current position of MPAs in Mozambique and the future opportunities that exist:

Gender in MPAs

Recognising the vital importance of integrating Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) considerations into MPA planning and management, OCPP partnered with MUVA, who are a community-focused organisation based in Mozambique addressing economic empowerment for socio-economically vulnerable communities, with a particular focus on women on young people. OCPP commissioned a research report on the role of gender in MPAs, examining the role women play within MPAs and the blue economy in Mozambique, and evaluating access to economic opportunities, agency, and participation in marine conservation efforts. MUVA’s aim with the report was to highlight community voices which are rarely heard in conservation discussions. Through the OCPP, JNCC supported MUVA to present their findings at the WIOMSA Symposium 2025, allowing an opportunity for those community voices to be given a platform in front of key stakeholders for marine conservation planning at national and regional levels.