UMOJI, which means “As One” in the local ChiNyanja language of Lake Niassa, is a new form of community association originally aimed at organising villagers' involvement in Manda Wilderness. Its strength and expertise has now grown to the point where Umoji is the main driving force for the economic development of the lakeshore area as well as for the active conservation of Manda Wilderness itself.
Each of the 15 villages covered by Manda Wilderness has an Umoji committee consisting of ten elected members (with a minimum of 2 needing to be women). The committees have a primary objective of managing the natural resources within the village boundaries. They collect data and keep fellow villagers informed about how best to use those natural resources in a productive and yet sustainable way.
Each village has four seats in the Association; two for representatives from the Committee and two for the Village Chief and his advisors. In this way both the democratic and traditional leaderships are represented and respected.Through Umoji, over 20,000 people in the 15 villages now have a firm grip over their own futures, in three ways:
1. Through their elected committees and their traditional leadership, they have a united voice through the Umoji Association, attracting outside attention when needed. For the first time in their history, they are united and organised
2. In collaboration with Manda Wilderness and the Provincial Tourism Department, the villagers have direct management rights over their natural resources on both land and lake.
3. Through clear planning and zoning, the communities will be able to attract investors to the area, maximise the use of the land they occupy and to conserve their natural heritage for future generations.
One of the most significant achievements of the close cooperation between Umoji and the Manda Wilderness Project was that villagers were able to register their communities land as their own and to declare a conservation area of 120,000 hectares – the size of Greater London.
In 2008, Umoji negotiated vigorously with the government and WWF (World Wildlife Fund) on the details of a new aquatic reserve for Lake Niassa. Umoji is now working with Mozambique consultants on a detailed plan for the management of the Manda Wilderness conservation area.Umoji leaders are clearly proud of their achievements, and say they receive frequent enquiries from other parts of Mozambique on how they work.
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