Mozambique floods kill 2, destroy homes

Terra Daily via AFP: Floods in Mozambique have killed two people and left hundreds homeless after heavy rains caused havoc, cutting roads and inundating parts of the capital, authorities said Tuesday.

Heavy rains have caused five major rivers -- including the Zambezi, Africa's fourth longest river system -- to burst their banks, flooding farmland and destroying homes.

"At this moment our big worry is Inhambane (in southern Mozambique)... where we have 800 displaced people," a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency told AFP. Authorities have set up emergency centres accommodating those who have lost their homes in the floods....

Public-Private Exchange on ABS in Mozambique

From 24-26 July, Gino Cocchiaro of Natural Justice participated in the Public-Private Exchange on ABS Implementation for the Southern Africa Region, which took place in Maputo, Mozambique. The meeting was jointly organized by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative, Phytotrade Africa and the Union for Ethical Biotrade. The meeting followed Phytotrade Africa's Annual General Meeting and was attended by representatives from the South African government, companies, co-operatives, associations, research and other organizations involved in biotrade and natural products’ research, development and commercialization. The focus of the discussion was on the practical methods of implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing in the SADC region.

Natural Justice presented on its work with communities involved in ABS and biotrade, which includes the development of specific biocultural community protocols, assisting in biocultural dialogues and supporting biotrade.