Improving the Quality, Capacity and Compliance of Environmental Licensing Processes in Mozambique: The Case of the Oil and Gas Industry

The paper identifies critical gaps in Mozambique's environmental licensing for the oil and gas sector, specifically regarding the quality of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), compliance with Environmental Management Plans (EMPs), and post-licensing transparency. It attributes these failures to the limited technical capacity of the Ministry for the Co-ordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA). To address this without new legislation, the author proposes implementing peer review systems for assessments, establishing Expert Technical Councils (ETCs) for implementation oversight, and adopting biodiversity offsets to achieve no net loss of biodiversity. The author argues that these improvements would benefit the state, local communities, and companies by reducing social conflict and aligning with international financial standards like the Equator Principles.

• The Ministry for the Co-ordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA) lacks sufficient technical capacity to effectively process and follow up on environmental impact assessments in the petroleum sector.
• While generally of reasonable quality, many EIAs in the oil and gas sector fail to provide realistic mitigation measures and frequently ignore cumulative and indirect impacts.
• Compliance with approved Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) is poorly monitored, with evidence showing that actual activities, such as seismic acquisition, can significantly exceed approved limits without sanctions.
• There is a critical lack of transparency and public participation once the licensing process ends and economic activities begin, leaving no formal mechanism for civil society to monitor implementation.
• Implementing a peer review mechanism—where independent specialists review the EIA—would increase the credibility of assessments and provide on-the-job training for MICOA staff.
• The creation of Expert Technical Councils (ETCs) could provide necessary oversight during high-risk implementation phases through field visits and technical reviews of EMP progress.
• Biodiversity offsets could be used to compensate for residual environmental damage, potentially utilizing Mozambique's existing protected area network as a reservoir for these offsets.
• Companies that fail to secure a 'social licence to operate' (SLO) through transparency and community trust face significant economic risks from social unrest and instability.

APA

Nazerali, S. (2014). Improving the Quality, Capacity and Compliance of Environmental Licensing Processes in Mozambique: The Case of the Oil and Gas Industry. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Occasional-Paper-178.pdf

Chicago

Nazerali, Sean. Improving the Quality, Capacity and Compliance of Environmental Licensing Processes in Mozambique: The Case of the Oil and Gas Industry. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2014. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Occasional-Paper-178.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nazerali |first1=Sean |title=Improving the Quality, Capacity and Compliance of Environmental Licensing Processes in Mozambique: The Case of the Oil and Gas Industry |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=March 2014 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Occasional-Paper-178.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nazerali2014improving, author = {Nazerali, Sean}, title = {{Improving the Quality, Capacity and Compliance of Environmental Licensing Processes in Mozambique: The Case of the Oil and Gas Industry}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2014}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Occasional-Paper-178.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }