Mozambique, Africa – Gorongosa National Park, represented by its Warden Mateus Mutemba and the President of “Gorongosa Restoration Project” (GRP) and member of Gorongosa Oversight Committee Greg Carr, recently signed in Maputo a partnership agreement with SOICO Group represented by its Chairman of the Board Daniel David and the Administrator Enoque Massango.
This partnership agreement was signed under the newly created Gorongosa Business Club, an initiative that aims to encourage and involve the Mozambican business community in the noble effort to restore one of the most iconic parks in Africa and the world.
During the act the Warden Mutemba commented: “It is with great pleasure that we note the adhesion to the Gorongosa Business Club of SOICO Group, the main group of private communication in Mozambique, which integrates two channels of television (STV and STV News), the station SFM radio and the daily newspaper O País.”
From left to right: Enoque Massango, Daniel David, Greg Carr and Mateus Mutemba
By the SOICO Group, President David Daniel said “Gorongosa National Park is one of the main symbols of Mozambique and the success of biodiversity conservation in the Park and the development of neighboring communities is only possible with the support of the business community actuating in Mozambique and all Mozambicans. We are certain that our media can play a very important role to alert and involve civil society in the development and preservation of biodiversity, in particular, the project of the Gorongosa National Park.”
A key component of this collaboration will be the dissemination of the activities of GRP in different communication platforms of SOICO Group, namely television, print and digital newspaper and the weekly broadcast of programs relating to Gorongosa National Park on the grid of channels “STV” and “STV News.”
The partnership signed today adds the following to the above-mentioned platforms:
About Gorongosa National Park and the Gorongosa Restoration Project
Gorongosa National Park is Mozambique’s premier wildlife national park located at the southern end of the Great East African Rift Valley. It is home to some of the biologically richest and most geologically diverse ecosystems on the African continent. Its border encompasses caves and deep gorges of the Cheringoma Plateau, vast savannahs of the Valley floor, and the precious rainforest of Mt. Gorongosa. However, the ecosystem was profoundly stressed during Mozambique’s civil conflict (1977-1992). Following the war, in 1993-96, illegal hunters added to the destruction, and many of Gorongosa’s large animal populations were reduced by 90% or more.
In 2005 the Carr Foundation, a U.S. not-for-profit organization founded by American philanthropist and conservationist Gregory C. Carr, joined with the Government of Mozambique under a memorandum of understanding to restore Gorongosa National Park. The partnership, known as “Gorongosa Restoration Project” (GRP), is one of most ambitious Park restoration efforts ever attempted (the restoration has also benefitted from support from USAID). The agreement promotes dual goals of ecosystem restoration and improved human development for the local communities. To date the GRP has revitalized anti-poaching teams; rebuilt park infrastructure; conducted biological monitoring; reintroduced grazers (zebra/wildebeest/buffalo/elephant/hippopotamus); established schools, education centers, medical clinics and agriculture programs; and in 2010 the Government of Mozambique expanded the park’s boundaries to include Mt. Gorongosa and a 3,300 sq km buffer zone around the park.
