COMENTÁRIOS DA NATURAL JUSTICE SOBRE O ANTEPROJECTO DA LEI DE FLORETAS: VERSÃO SUBMETIDAA CONSULTA PUBLICA

Natural Justice critiques the draft Forest Law of Mozambique for failing to distinguish between native and planted forests, neglecting sustainable forest management, and ignoring the socio-cultural rights of local communities. The organization warns that the law's focus on economic exploitation and lack of deterrent sanctions for illegal logging and corruption could lead to the extinction of precious tree species by 2029. Key recommendations include incorporating the principle of non-regression, establishing clear community consultation processes, and implementing robust monitoring and training systems to combat organized forest crime.

• The draft law is characterized as an economic instrument for legalizing exploitation and trade rather than a protective environmental framework, failing to incorporate the essential concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) to balance socio-economic and environmental needs.
• The law fails to distinguish between native and planted forests, which creates a risk that loggers will clear native forests to plant fast-growing species for the carbon market, threatening indigenous tree species and their habitats.
• Illegal logging in Mozambique increased significantly, from 81% between 2007 and 2012 to 93% in 2013; if this pace continues, permanent stocks of first-class and precious species may be completely extinct by 2029.
• The draft law neglects the socio-cultural and spiritual importance of forests to Mozambican communities, including their role in ancestral rituals, traditional medicine, and as physical markers of land ownership.
• Public consultation for the draft law was deficient, as it was conducted primarily in Portuguese, excluding many local communities, and provided insufficient time for stakeholders to review the complex document.
• Current sanctions for forest crimes, such as forest fires, are insufficient to deter criminals and are being exploited by real estate developers to destroy forests to change their protection status for planning authorizations.
• Institutional corruption is a major barrier to conservation in Mozambique, enabling illegal logging contracts and the capture of state officials and the judiciary, yet the draft law fails to recognize or address this issue.
• The law does not adequately protect women's roles in the forest economy, specifically those collecting firewood and fruits or selling charcoal, and lacks provisions for gender equality funds or empowerment programs.

APA

Natural Justice (2022). COMENTÁRIOS DA NATURAL JUSTICE SOBRE O ANTEPROJECTO DA LEI DE FLORETAS: VERSÃO SUBMETIDAA CONSULTA PUBLICA. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Comentarios-ao-Anteprojecto-da-Lei-de-Florestas.docx-1_portguese.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. COMENTÁRIOS DA NATURAL JUSTICE SOBRE O ANTEPROJECTO DA LEI DE FLORETAS: VERSÃO SUBMETIDAA CONSULTA PUBLICA. 2022. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Comentarios-ao-Anteprojecto-da-Lei-de-Florestas.docx-1_portguese.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Natural Justice |title=COMENTÁRIOS DA NATURAL JUSTICE SOBRE O ANTEPROJECTO DA LEI DE FLORETAS: VERSÃO SUBMETIDAA CONSULTA PUBLICA |date=April 2022 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Comentarios-ao-Anteprojecto-da-Lei-de-Florestas.docx-1_portguese.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{naturaljustice2022comentrios, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{COMENTÁRIOS DA NATURAL JUSTICE SOBRE O ANTEPROJECTO DA LEI DE FLORETAS: VERSÃO SUBMETIDAA CONSULTA PUBLICA}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, year = {2022}, month = apr, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Comentarios-ao-Anteprojecto-da-Lei-de-Florestas.docx-1_portguese.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }