LocationsANAC and UNDP launch “TRANSFORM” to strengthen wildlife conservation and livelihoods in Mozambique
September 2, 2026
Pejul Calenga, ANAC Director-General
MAPUTO, 2 SEPTEMBER 2026 – The Government of Mozambique, through the National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) officially launched the “Transforming Wildlife Conservation and Livelihoods at Landscape Scale in Mozambique (TRANSFORM)” project in Maputo on Wednesday. The long-term initiative aims to promote more integrated and sustainable biodiversity management, strengthen community resilience, and generate environmental and socio-economic benefits across the Gorongosa–Marromeu and Rovuma–Lugenda landscapes.
Running until 2033, with approximately US$15.4 million in funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) under the GEF-8 Integrated Programme on Wildlife Conservation for Development, TRANSFORM seeks to contribute to systemic change in the way wildlife conservation is planned, financed and implemented in Mozambique.
The project builds on Mozambique’s longstanding commitment to biodiversity conservation and on results achieved through previous GEF investments, including interventions supported under GEF-4 and GEF-6. At the same time, it seeks to consolidate and scale up these gains through an integrated, landscape-scale approach.
TRANSFORM recognizes that biodiversity conservation is closely linked to the economic and social conditions of communities living within and around conservation landscapes. The initiative therefore combines strengthened conservation area management with improved livelihoods, enhanced law enforcement, inclusive land-use planning, and more equitable mechanisms for sharing the benefits generated by wildlife-based economies.
Stakeholders came together for a workshop aimed at officially presenting the project, fostering coordination amongst the institutions and partners involved, and defining the main priorities and lines of action for its implementation.
The Gorongosa–Marromeu and Rovuma–Lugenda landscapes are strategically important for Mozambique’s biodiversity conservation and ecological connectivity. At the same time, they face increasing pressures, including deforestation, poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation, unsustainable land-use practices, and human–wildlife conflict.
By addressing these interconnected drivers simultaneously, the project seeks to create conditions for biodiversity conservation and local development to mutually reinforce one another.
TRANSFORM is expected to contribute to global environmental benefits, including through reducing poaching and wildlife trafficking, conserving and restoring ecological corridors, and improving the management of more than three million hectares of terrestrial landscapes of high biodiversity importance.
The initiative will also contribute to improved management of land located along wildlife corridors and the maintenance of ecosystem services that are essential to communities and local economies. The conservation and restoration of these ecosystems may also help avoid significant carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, strengthening the contribution of nature conservation to climate action.
The project further recognizes that healthy ecosystems are a fundamental component of community resilience to the impacts of climate change and other environmental risks.
Speaking at the project launch ceremony, ANAC Director-General Pejul Calega highlighted the importance of effective coordination among institutions and stakeholders involved in conservation, noting that sustainable results depend on collective action and a shared vision for the landscapes covered by the project.
“The relevance of the TRANSFORM Project is heightened by the current climate emergency. According to INGD data for the 2025/2026 rainy and cyclone season, the Government-approved Annual Contingency Plan anticipated a risk scenario in which up to 2.7 million people could potentially be affected. In this context, preserving and maintaining intact ecosystems serves as our first and most effective line of natural defence, safeguarding human lives and critical infrastructure", said ANAC Director-General Pejul Calenga.
For his part, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for Programmes, Cleophas Torori, emphasized that sustainable conservation depends not only on institutional capacity, but also on the participation and engagement of communities that share these landscapes.
“Effective conservation requires strong institutions, but also communities that recognise that conservation can generate tangible benefits for their lives. It is this link between conservation, local development and livelihoods that creates the conditions for more lasting results,” he said.
The Deputy Resident Representative also highlighted the importance of ensuring that women and young people are at the centre of the opportunities generated by the project.
“The gender dimension is not an additional element of the project; it is central to its ambition to achieve sustainable impact. Women and young people must have meaningful opportunities to participate in conservation-related economic activities, access financing, and benefit from the resources and opportunities generated across these landscapes", stressed Cleophas Torori, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for Programmes.
The implementation of TRANSFORM is structured around five interconnected components, designed to address key factors influencing biodiversity conservation and sustainable development across the selected landscapes:
1. Management of conservation area networks, aimed at strengthening the effectiveness, connectivity and sustainability of conservation systems;
2. Strengthening policy and regulatory frameworks, supporting institutional and governance conditions that are more conducive to biodiversity conservation;
3. Generating socio-economic benefits through wildlife management, promoting sustainable livelihoods and equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms;
4. Knowledge exchange and coordination, strengthening learning, collaboration and the dissemination of good practices among relevant institutions and stakeholders; and
5. Monitoring and evaluation, ensuring that interventions are supported by evidence, continuous learning, and mechanisms to measure results and impact.
Between 2026 and 2033, the project is also expected to contribute to strengthening ecosystem resilience and the adaptive capacity of local communities to climate change, while promoting nature-based solutions and sustainable natural resource management practices.
By integrating conservation, local economic development, governance, gender, youth and climate resilience, TRANSFORM seeks to demonstrate that investing in nature is also investing in people and in Mozambique’s sustainable development.
For more information contact: Manuel Mabuiangue, Head of Strategic Partnerships & Communication manuel.mabuiangue@undp.org
