3 January 2008
Maputo — The Mozambican government intends to transform the Gorongosa National Park, in the central province of Sofala, into a southern African reference point, and a strong competitor to the other parks of the region.
To this end the Mozambican Tourism Ministry has been working since 2005 with the Carr Foundation (set up by the American multi-millionaire Gregory Carr) on a joint plan to rehabilitate the Gorongosa Park.
The park was seriously damaged during the war of destabilisation. The apartheid-backed Renamo rebels destroyed the tourist facilities, every elephant in the park was shot, or fled, and other wild life was decimated.
The park was closed in 1982, and even after the end of the war, in 1992, it was a haven for poachers. The government only re-established its authority over the park and moved to stamp out poaching in 1995.
The current plan envisages restocking the park with animals, building three tourist camps (two of them of luxury standard), and training wardens and other staff. For these activities, the Carr Foundation has promised to disburse over 30 million US dollars in the next ten years, Tourism Minister Fernando Sumbana told AIM. Sumbana's ministry will contribute with 158,000 dollars a year.
Sumbana said that since 2005, the Carr Foundation has provided six million dollars, which were used "to establish the pillars for the development of the park", such as the development of key infrastructures.
This money is a grant. It will be spent on infrastructure investment, restocking, training and community development. "There's no return of this money", said Sumbana.
The Minister said the government has identified a partner to manage the park and check any further degradation. He stressed that Gorongosa has "very special" characteristics, with no less than 54 eco-systems, including flood plains, Lake Urema, the Pungue river, miombo woodland, the Cheringoma plateau, and the Gorongosa mountain range itself.
Sumbana believed that the partnership with the Carr Foundation will allow the country to obtain tourist income, and will create urgently needed technical capacity to improve the park. "We are establishing a park that will be a reference point throughout southern Africa", he said. "Within a few years, we want the Gorongosa Park to be a strong competitor of the major parks of the region".
The government's perspective is that as from year five of the rehabilitation, Gorongosa will be receiving 500,000 tourists a year, and bringing in annual revenue of 75 million dollars (based on an estimate of each tourist staying for an average of three days, and spending 50 dollars a day).
In December, the government gave the go-ahead for signing an agreement on the joint management of the park, which will be valid for 20 years, with an annual assessment. During this period, it is hoped that the park will become self-sustaining.
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