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By Patty Pitts
Children in Quelimane, Mozambique, will benefit from UVic-led aquaculture program.
Mozambique, the coastal nation in southeast Africa, is struggling to recover from more than two decades of war that has ravaged the country. Along the coastline, the fishery is in decline, but a new project, led by the University of Victoria, is offering the area’s citizens hope for a better life.
The UVic-led Southern Oceans Education and Development project (SOED) will establish sustainable shrimp and mollusc aquaculture programs that preserve Mozambique’s coastal ecosystems. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) recently provided $1 million for the project.
SOED will build on expertise developed during previous CIDA-funded UVic projects in Brazil. Since Mozambique and Brazil share a common language (Portuguese) expertise can easily be shared between institutions in Brazil and the School of Marine and Coastal Sciences at the satellite campus of Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) in the coastal city of Quelimane, Mozambique, as well as the Ministry of Fisheries.
“This partnership represents a transfer of development roles,” says Jack Littlepage of the Centre for Global Studies and SOED co-director. “For more than a decade, UVic carried out aquaculture development projects in Brazil, and now we have the opportunity to work with Brazilian partners in university and government to bring to Mozambique the same kinds of benefits which flowed to coastal communities in Brazil—a secure food source, improved economic and social opportunities and, above all, an appreciation of the marine environment.”
While Mozambique’s government has made significant advances in fighting poverty and improving human development since signing the peace accord that ended civil strife, Mozambique remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Like many African countries, it is also hard-hit by high HIV/AIDS infection rates.
While the focus of SOED will be on coastal resource and environmental management, the project will not ignore other societal issues facing the citizens of Mozambique. HIV/AIDS has lowered the life expectancy for the coastal area population and gender inequity continues to be a problem. SOED will promote equal opportunities for women and build information about HIV/AIDS into project curricula and extension programming.
Under the co-direction of UVic researchers Littlepage and geography professor Mark Flaherty, SOED will help develop instructional programs in marine sciences, oceanography and aquaculture at UEM. Graduate students from UEM and the Ministry of Fisheries will be studying marine sciences at UVic and at Brazil’s Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), with whom UVic has a long-standing partnership. These students will take their new knowledge back to Mozambique to create courses to be offered at UEM and to help to develop effective policies for the management of coastal resources.
Along with UFSC, UVic will lend expertise to develop aquaculture extension programs for citizens interested in operating their own aquaculture businesses. Aquaculture provides many business opportunities for women since cultural activities take place close to home and draw on their traditional skills. Even children, who often assist in family occupations, will be able to participate in the aquaculture business without having to forfeit attendance at school.
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