Beira, Mozambique: Praia Resilience Project

In 2022, the City of Beira, Mozambique, was selected as a grantee of the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees (GCF), the MMC’s instrument to channel international funding directly to cities to implement inclusive projects of their own design.

With support from the GCF, the City of Beira is revitalizing damaged city buildings as temporary shelters to relocate people forced to move by severe flooding.

Mozambique has long-faced natural hazards, and extreme weather events have become more frequent and intense in recent years. As a low-lying city located on Mozambique’s central coast, Beira is not only highly exposed to the risks of tropical cyclones, storm surge, coastal erosion and sea level rise, but it is also home to many internally displaced people (IDPs) who have fled conflict in the country’s north in search of safety and economic opportunities. 

Following tropical cyclones Idai, Chalane and Eloise from 2019-2021, communities living in the informal settlement of Praia Nova, which is precariously constructed on a sandbank and home to over 100,000 people, were forced to repeatedly flee their homes. Extreme weather has also damaged local infrastructure and public spaces, including the once thriving 20 de Agosto fish market. Even under less severe rainfall conditions, residents report having to sit on their tin-roofed dwellings to avoid being swept up with the tide or contracting water-borne diseases from stagnant floodwaters. 

With a growing population and insecure job opportunities, Praia Nova also faces a dearth of basic service provision such as fresh drinking water, sanitation, and drainage networks. 

With support from the GCF, the city of Beira refurbished the 20 de Agosto Market in Praia Nova and supported the voluntary and dignified relocation of families at risk of climate displacement to safer ground. 

In addition to providing space for vendors, the refurbished 20 de Agosto Market served as a multipurpose disaster management hub. The Market included an emergency shelter for residents with impaired mobility and will be a base of operations for Beira’s local Committee for the Management and Reduction of Risks of Disasters in Praia Nova. As part of the project, the committee received training and equipment to strengthen its technical capabilities. 

Beira’s project also created pathways for the dignified and voluntary relocation of 15 households from Praia Nova’s highest flood risk area to less vulnerable territory in Muave. Beira provided specially designed housing to relocated families, which will include a plot of land to grow food. The city has also finalized infrastructure and service provision in Muave, including bore holes for water, roads, electricity and a cold storage system to reduce the distance people have to travel to preserve and prepare fish for the market. The project team prioritized sustainable construction practices, such as reusing stones and sand from coastal protection activities for housing.

Beira’s GCF project has restored essential public infrastructure in the city that was destroyed by cyclones and taken concrete action to prevent climate displacement, building the foundation for an inclusive and climate-resilient future. 

The city’s renovation of the 20 de Agosto Market not only repaired storm damage but also created a sanitary and welcoming economic hub for local fish vendors. Additionally, the Market is now home to Beira’s Disaster Risk Management Committee office. The Committee’s new consolidated base of operations has already led two evacuation simulations for extreme weather events to improve disaster preparedness and help Praia Nova residents learn about and adapt to climate change, particularly severe coastal storms.  

As part of the project’s relocation activities, the city identified 30 high-risk families, an estimated 150 people who live under repeated and severe flood threat in Praia Nova, to voluntarily relocate to safe, permanent housing in Muave—an area of Beira on higher ground. In addition to housing, land, and basic services, relocated families will receive land ownership certificates, which protect their security of tenure and provide the stability needed to pursue education and livelihoods. Beira’s initial relocation of 15 families serves as a pilot for relocating 1,000 families in the years ahead, and the municipality is in active talks with multilateral development banks to further invest in Muave as a habitable, climate-resilient haven for more families from Praia Nova

In addition to strengthening institutional resilience in Praia Nova, the success of Beira’s GCF project will provide a critical launch point for the city’s plan to develop Muave into a lively neighborhood of retreat for families at risk of displacement along Beira’s coastline.