In a note made public this Thursday in the Jornal de Angola newspaper, INBAC said that the tender aims to select individual consultants, companies or civil society organizations with technical and operational capacity to submit proposals.
According to the document, the candidates must submit projects for elaboration of social and environmental diagnosis in Serra do Pingano, Uige province, Kumbira Forest, Kwanza Sul province, and Morro do Moco, Huambo province.
The applicants must also develop a management plan for the Kumbira Forest and a campaign to promote community involvement, education and environmental awareness in conservation areas for that forest.
The implementation of a community beekeeping system and environmental awareness in the communities living around the Cangandala National Park, Malanje province, and the installation of a radio system for the Maiombe National Park, Cabinda province, are also among the authorities' wishes.
Contacted by Lusa, the INBAC acting general director, Albertina Nzuzi, who did not want to get into details, said that the candidates should elaborate management plans for the referred areas and should also submit budget proposals to INBAC.
The applications will take place until the first half of April and INBAC, an organ of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment, should create an evaluation commission for each project.
The public tender has the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
The government has drafted a proposal to amend the Law on Environmental Conservation Areas, which aims to accommodate the exploitation of mineral resources and oil in protected areas, already approved by the specialty committees of parliament after public presentation.
The proposal authorizes on an extraordinary basis the exploitation of mineral resources, oil and gas in partial nature reserves and special nature reserves, as well as the exploitation of these resources in national parks.
According to the authorities, in addition to renewable natural resources, such as fauna and flora, the natural reserves and national parks also have underground mineral resources, oil and gas that, "once exploited, can add economic value to these areas and beyond," enabling revenue collection for the state.
Environmentalists and other civil society actors have already disapproved of the measure in a petition sent to various ministerial bodies, defending the "safeguarding and greater control" of the protected areas.
