Communication - Presse
Universidade Pedagógica and TotalEnergies join efforts for the environment
The Universidade Pedagógica de Maputo (Pedagogical University of Maputo – UP) and the Mozambique LNG project, operated by TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, as part of the marked environment week, joined forces this Tuesday in Maputo to develop awareness-raising actions regarding the importance of preserving the environment.
The actions included a lecture given by Jorge Ferrão, Rector of UP and specialist in socioenvironmental sciences, entitled “Biodiversity: local and global challenges”, and an exhibition of works on environmental sustainability by three best-ranked young Mozambicans in the third edition of the “startupper challenge”, a contest promoted by TotalEnergies, aimed at young entrepreneurs and with the aim of identifying, stimulating, elevating, and monitoring the best projects evaluated for the creation or development of businesses with a positive impact on communities, as well as on the planet.
With the motto “one land, one house”, Jorge Ferrão addressed the main global and challenges Mozambique is facing on the environment. A communication that began by bringing an African reference in environmental conservation, Wangari Muta Maathai (1940 – 2011), a Kenyan teacher and political activist for the environment, as a presupposition for changing the behaviour of the student community and beyond, regarding environmental awareness.
Jorge Ferrão encouraged TotalEnergies to increase its actions in favour of the environment, giving special emphasis to environmental education and support for research related to environmental conservation. Ferrão recalled the audience that we are in the decade of the oceans and left the need to pay particular attention to them due to the importance they have as regulators of life on earth and source of ecosystem services for humanity.
The speaker also referred to global warming and the increasing impact and frequency of events such as cyclones, storms, and floods in recent years in the world and in Mozambique. These phenomena, he added, derive from the effect of several factors, including deforestation,
pollution of the seas, population growth and the unsustainable extraction of resources.
Tércio Masseque, Vice-President for Health, Environment and Safety at TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, said that “Totalenergies places sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people. We do it with concrete actions and with a direct impact on communities. The support for socio-economic development programs underway in Cabo Delgado, based on actions for the restoration and protection of biodiversity, with a particular focus on mangroves and marine resources, as well as the support for projects by young entrepreneurs in environmental sustainability are examples of these actions. The company is committed to contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including those related to the preservation of the environment and biodiversity.”
Masseque also stated that “education and awareness of environmental and biodiversity issues are one of TotalEnergies’ work themes. Therefore, it is always an added value when we can establish partnerships with academia and specialists in these matters to strengthen the skills of our employees and contribute to a greater awareness of student communities and society in general about the great pressing challenges of society, as are the climate and biodiversity challenges that the humanity is facing”.
Masseque added that in addition to the lecture and exhibition held in partnership with UP, TotalEnergies programmed, within the scope of the environment week, several activities, which include the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Land and
Environment on the preservation of biodiversity. The list of scheduled activities also includes a visit by TotalEnergies employees to Maputo National Park with the aim of raising their awareness of environmental and biodiversity issues, as well as on the existing potential for the practice of nature-based tourism.
About Pedagogical University of Maputo
It began as Instituto Superior Pedagógico – ISP (Higher Pedagogical Institute), founded on December 4, 1985, with the primary objective of training teachers for the fragile post independence secondary education, which was reduced to a few dozen establishments throughout the country.
In 1995, it became the Pedagogical University – UP, to better fit the new economic order in Mozambique and to respond to the new challenges imposed by the institution’s growth and expansion. Teacher training continues to be a priority, along with higher education in other areas necessary for the development of the country.
On January 29, 2019, the Council of Ministers decided to extinguish the Pedagogical University and create five new universities, among them, the Pedagogical University of Maputo, abbreviated as UP-Maputo by Decree No. 5/2019, of 4 March.
In the academic field, UP-Maputo has eight Faculties that host close to 15,000 undergraduate students. In total, there are 48-degree courses, day and night shift and distance learning regime. At the master’s level, there are 27 courses and at the doctorate level, 8 courses.
An interesting fact is that the largest number of students are female, 58 percent, a percentage that makes UP-Maputo a model university for women.
Environmental issues are a central concern of UP-Maputo, a fact that justifies the celebration of World Environment Day in partnership with Total Energies.
About TotalEnergies in Mozambique
In Mozambique since 1991, the Company operates in two segments: Marketing & Services and Exploration & Production.
TotalEnergies Marketing Moҫambique S.A. is a major player in the downstream petroleum products market with a nationwide gas stations network, industrial and exploration customers, and activities in lubricants and logistics areas.
TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, a wholly owned subsidiary of TotalEnergies, operates the Mozambique LNG project with a 26.5% stake, together with ENH Rovuma Área 1, SA (15%), Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area1 Limited (20%), ONGC Videsh Rovuma Limited
(10%), Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited (10%), BPRL Ventures Mozambique BV (10%), and PTTEP Mozambique Area 1 Limited (8.5%).
About TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables, and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable, and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.
