Integration of Ecosystem Services into Land Use Planning in Mozambique

Abstract

The Ecosystem Service (ES) concept needs to be expressed and communicated effectively to be successfully integrated into decision-making. In this paper, we conducted a review of relevant documents to Mozambique’s spatial planning by performing a content analysis based on ES categories. Results revealed that of the seven Land Use Planning (LUP) documents analyzed, only the National Development Strategy referenced ES explicitly. However, all documents made implicit references to provisioning ES. Five out of the seven LUP documents referred to regulating and cultural ES. None of the LUP documents made any explicit or implicit references to supporting ES. A Strengths, Weakness Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis towards ES integration in LUP based on these documents showed that the major strength was acknowledging the need to preserve ecological equilibrium and ensure sustainability. The periodical revision of tools and participatory approaches in LUP opens opportunities for integrating ES into LUP processes. This integration could be achieved by establishing a SEA legal framework based on LUP and Environment legal frameworks assisted by a set of common planning tools that consider ES as an additional indicator applied to spatial planning in Mozambique.