PEI Mozambique is closely working with NGOs and local communities to address P-E related issues in 3 provinces through 8 demonstration projects. In Cabo Delgado two projects have been implemented by local NGO’s, one focusing on combating soil erosion through awareness raising implemented by KULIMA and the other focusing on natural resources management at local level implemented by Forum Terra. In the province of Gaza the Association for Community Development (LUPA) has created awareness around deforestation and new technologies for forest conservation and the local university (Universidade Pedagógica – Delegação de Gaza) have completed an analysis on how to enhance flood mitigation strategies.

The demonstration projects have shown both immediate and longer term positive impacts on poverty reduction including improved livelihoods, more sustainable management of local natural resources and improved coordination among the key stakeholders at local level. For example, one of the projects implemented in Gaza (the province most severely affected by droughts) has resulted in alternative employment and increase in agriculture production, benefiting a total of 88 producers, and generating annually at least 318.200 MT of additional revenue for the producers.

The overall objective of PEI Mozambique is to build capacity of government, national, provincial and district level planners to integrate environment into economic and social plans and support these aspects of the national development plans. However, occasionally the initiative funds demonstration projects as a strategy in its efforts to catalyze government and donor investments in pro-poor environmental sustainability by in practice demonstrating the poverty reduction benefits of more sustainable environmental management. In 2013 PEI Mozambique is planning to conduct economic impact analysis of the demonstration projects to further illustrate the value thereof and catalyze similar investments by others.