Mozambique FCPF Zambézia Integrated Landscape REDD+ Programme (ZILMP)

The Zambezia Integrated Landscape Management Programme (ZILMP) is Mozambique's first jurisdictional REDD+ programme and the first in the world to receive an emission-reduction payment under the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Carbon Fund. It covers 5.3 million hectares across nine districts of Zambezia Province, encompassing miombo and coastal woodland and Gile National Park.

In December 2017, Mozambique signed an Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) with the FCPF Carbon Fund, committing to deliver up to 10 million tCO2e in verified emission reductions by end-2024, at performance-based payments of up to US$50 million (US$5/tCO2e).

The National Sustainable Development Fund (FNDS) under MITADER implements annual monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) via remote sensing and field verification. The benefit-sharing plan allocates 70% of proceeds to local communities, 20% to private-sector partners, 4% to district governments, 4% to Gile National Park, and 2% to environmental management.

In October 2021, Mozambique became the first country in the world to receive an FCPF emission-reduction payment: US$6.4 million for 1.28 million tCO2e reduced since 2019, independently verified by a third party contracted by the World Bank. Total transfers through 2023 reached approximately US$7 million — about 14% of the ERPA maximum — reflecting that deforestation rates in several districts have not declined as projected.

These implementation challenges, including benefit-distribution concerns reported in the local press, are publicly documented, but the programme nonetheless remains the continent's most significant jurisdictional forest-carbon milestone.