Mozambique: Digitising forestry licences key to curbing smuggling — AIM report | Watch

The Mozambican government believes that digitising the licensing and export system for forestry products is crucial to reducing timber smuggling, as it strengthens oversight and increases transparency in the sector. According to the National Director of Forests, Imede Falume, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the seminar presenting the “Draft Zero” of the 2026-2035 Strategic Plan of the country’s Federation of Forestry Operators (FEDEMOMA), the introduction of digital systems represents a significant advance in the management of the sector, reducing opportunities for fraud and improving the control of operations. “We have introduced improvements in management.

We are specifically talking about the digital system for controlling licenses. The margin for timber smuggling using false documents is greatly reduced,” he said. He also explained that FEDEMOMA is working in order to train operators in the use of georeferencing tools, with a view to improving traceability.

For his turn, Jorge Chacate of FEDEMOMA, called for coordinated action between the State and operators to combat illegal logging. “Protecting those who work in the forests is a political duty. There are reports of rented licenses and operators using charcoal licenses for illegal logging in concessions and conservation areas,” he said.

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According to Chacate, irregularities in the use of timber transit permits also persist and “this system has the potential to eliminate several irregularities. The forestry information system was designed to reduce human intervention and eliminate irregular practices.” He claimed that timber exports have fallen from 505,000 cubic meters in 2015 to approximately 64,000 in recent years.

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