After decades of growth in China-Mozambique economic relations, China is now the destination for approximately 93 per cent of all Mozambique’s timber exports. Meanwhile, an alarming loss of forest cover has raised concerns over the impact of this trade on Mozambique’s forest and rural development. How can the China-Mozambique timber trade foster better stewardship of forest resources in Mozambique and benefit poor men and women?
China in Mozambique's Forests: A review of issues and progress for livelihoods and sustainability compiles three years of work of the China-Africa Forest Governance project to develop evidence on constraints and opportunities for forest resources in productive and resilient land use and trade, to develop capacity and dialogue among relevant stakeholders in China and Mozambique, and to deliver policy and practice improvement opportunities.
It also includes the history of China-Mozambique relations, details on the nature and scale of Chinese investment in Mozambique and the implications that this has for the forest sector, impacts of recent legal reforms to control the situation described, and incentives to improve the practice of Chinese timber operators and their Mozambican partners.