Protecting Traditional Knowledge in Mozambique: Current legal and institutional frameworks

The report finds that Mozambique lacks a functional, dedicated regulatory framework for protecting traditional knowledge associated with biological resources, though it possesses a fragmented system of biodiversity, forestry, and intellectual property laws. While Decree 19/2007 serves as the primary instrument for access and benefit-sharing (ABS), its implementation has been hindered by resource constraints and a lack of political impetus. The document highlights a current review of this decree and the potential for a new traditional knowledge database to address existing gaps. It also identifies significant barriers to community-led protection, including high poverty levels, weak community institutions, and a widespread lack of legal awareness among local populations.

• Mozambique currently lacks functional regulatory frameworks specifically designed to protect traditional knowledge associated with biological resources, although a favorable political climate is driving advances, including a review of Decree 19/2007.
• Decree 19/2007 is the primary legislation for protecting traditional knowledge linked to biodiversity, but it predates the Nagoya Protocol and has faced implementation challenges due to limited human and financial resources.
• The 2023 Forestry and Wildlife Law (Law No. 17/2023) strengthens community rights by recognizing 'personal consumption' as traditional practices exempt from taxation and allowing communities to use protected species for food, medicine, and cultural practices.
• Intellectual property laws in Mozambique, including the Copyright Law and Industrial Property Code, are generally ill-suited for traditional knowledge because they are designed for individual rather than collective ownership.
• Geographical Indications (GI) under the Industrial Property Code offer a flexible mechanism for protecting regional genetic resources; the first such award was granted to goat meat from Tete province in 2018.
• The National Policy on Traditional Medicine (Resolution 11/2004) aims to integrate traditional health practices into the National Health System, but the subsequent drafting of a specific traditional medicine law was halted around 2015.
• A successful case study of benefit-sharing involves the Pedagogical University and AMETRAMO, where a patent for a cancer treatment derived from the Tabernaemontana elegans tree includes a financial sharing agreement with traditional healers.
• Community resource management is severely undermined by poverty, a lack of legal awareness, and the fact that many community consultation agreements lack the legal weight to effectively protect local rights.
• The Ministry of Science and Technology, via the Center for Ethnobotanical Research and Development (CIDE), is exploring the creation of an inaugural traditional knowledge database to support the protection and valorization of TK.

APA

Natural Justice (2024). Protecting Traditional Knowledge in Mozambique: Current legal and institutional frameworks. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MZ-TK-Legal-Framework-MZ-DRAFT-REPORT-Designed.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. Protecting Traditional Knowledge in Mozambique: Current legal and institutional frameworks. 2024. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MZ-TK-Legal-Framework-MZ-DRAFT-REPORT-Designed.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=Protecting Traditional Knowledge in Mozambique: Current legal and institutional frameworks |date=November 2024 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MZ-TK-Legal-Framework-MZ-DRAFT-REPORT-Designed.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2024protecting, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Protecting Traditional Knowledge in Mozambique: Current legal and institutional frameworks}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MZ-TK-Legal-Framework-MZ-DRAFT-REPORT-Designed.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }