**5.5 Ineffective civil society**

Mozambique's civil society has so far been very ineffective in protecting communities like Cubo from losing their land to private interests. Civil society faces the challenge of balancing the different expectations of the government and the local communities, especially as the functions of government agencies in implementing and enforcing the land law are constrained by weak processes of accountable governance, limited financial resources, and scarce capacity. The national civil society needs capacity building so that it should be able to encourage the government to prioritize implementation of existing laws and policies that already promote devolved natural resources management and work on harmonizing cross-sectoral policy and legislation that improve the management effectiveness of land and natural resources. This process should be reinforced by strong civil society's advocacy for CBNRM models that strengthen locally accountable institutions for natural resource management and use, enabling local communities to protect their land and resources against foreign acquisitions. Civil society should also focus more on improving transparency and effectiveness in enforcing the land law, to ensure that all its statutes are adequately implemented and enforced.

The civil society should also strongly advocate for Mozambique to implement various international conventions, such as Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD), among many others. While national sovereignty is paramount for any country, these Conventions have been widely embraced by many countries in the world in promoting and implementing biodiversity conservation programs, and Mozambique is a party to these conventions. The CBD, for example, specifically recognizes the potential role of local communities in biodiversity conservation through Articles 8 (j), 10 (c), 10 (d), and 11 [23].

Additionally, UNCCD also recognizes the importance of secure land and resource tenure and forms of decentralization. The UNCCD places considerable emphasis on promoting the sustainable use of natural resources [Article 3 (b)], alternative livelihoods [Article 10. 4], and capacity building of local communities for sustainable land and resource management [Article 19]. The strong convergence between the key principles of the CBD, UNCCD, and the generic approach to CBNRM in southern Africa should provide sufficient impetus for the civil society in Mozambique to encourage the government to improve its effort in implementing policies and legislative mechanisms that safeguard community's land rights, prevents alienation of their land without their collective consent, and guarantees their participation in conservationbased enterprises as a means of diversifying community livelihood strategies, and contribution to sustainable rural development.
