rights and duties of member under the agreement
Following numerous meetings and consultations it was decide that the management of forest resources required a coordinated approach based on education, research and trade and law enforcement in forest resources.
The coordinated efforts between Mozambique and Tanzania are expected to bring about significant strides in the management of forests, increasing benefits to the population of the two countries from the implementation of REDD and other carbon credit projects and improving the management of high value conservation areas.
Provisions within the MOU to deal with illegal cross border logging include establishing joint law enforcement units within the boundaries, sharing intelligence and establishing check-points in the border areas.
An assessment of the scale of illegal cross border timber is currently ongoing but there is evidence that the illegal timber trade is significant.
Currently, over 20 million people live in and along coastal forests and landscapes in Eastern Africa and their survival is highly dependent on the availability of basic natural resources such as timber and fuel wood.
The dependency on such resources and the consequent exploitation is destroying the very basis of their existence.
The pressures are rapidly rising as the population is expected to double by 2030 putting even more of a strain on the already meagre natural resources in the region.
Increased regional cooperation on sustainable forest management is critical to mitigating these pressures, according to WWF.