Mozambique’s land area of 7.8 million km² supports a population of 23.7 million.¹ After the economic and social turmoil of its civil war, which ended in 1992, Mozambique is today experiencing continued economic growth. In 2012, the gross domestic product (GDP) was 7.4%, increasing to 7.6% by 2014.²

Much of this growth has been attributed to heavy exploitation of natural resources, particularly in the mining, agriculture, forestry and energy sectors. Mozambique’s thriving mining industry experienced an average annual growth of 23.3% from 2010 to 2012 and over 40% in 2012. This enormous expansion has been driven by increased coal exports...

This section looks at how the key elements of sustainable investment are supported by Mozambique’s constitution, national development strategy and climate change law, which form the foundation of its position on the rule of law and its strategy for national development. It also briefly reviews sectoral legal frameworks as they relate to sustainable land-use investments; further information on these frameworks is available in Annex 2.

The 2004 constitution of Mozambique is the supreme law of the country,²⁷ and all government bodies are bound by its letter and spirit. Constitutional recognition of social and environmental safeguards, including the right to live...

Weak enforcement of environmental and social safeguards, lack of incentives in the legal framework, insecure land tenure and low public awareness are four common challenges to sustainable land-use investment, and equitable distribution of benefits from investment, in the forestry, energy, agriculture and mining sectors. This section examines these challenges in the context of Mozambique’s legal framework, analyzing how the law has worked and where challenges remain.

The constitution establishes a broad basis for natural resource management, drawing from internationally recognized principles of intergenerational equity as well as the need to ensure balanced development. The Law on Environment 20/97 and supporting...

An analysis of Mozambique’s legal framework for investment indicates that the country has made substantial progress in addressing many of the challenges to its ability to achieve greater sustainability. This has come at a critical phase of Mozambique’s rapid economic expansion. The resource-rich country has seen flourishing investments in natural resource extraction but with little corresponding advancement toward its national goals. Reforms to key areas that form the foundation of social and environmental safeguards are a significant step toward the reversal of previously negative trends.

Mozambique has taken steps to diversify its investments and place greater focus on their alignment...