Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

Ambassador of Portugal Visits Gorongosa National Park

Jun 4, 2009 - Gorongosa National Park

The ambassador of Portugal in Mozambique made his first official visit to Gorongosa National Park (GNP) from the 21st to the 24th of this May, in the scope of the visiting the provinces of Manica and Sofala. 

Mário Godinho de Matos was received by senior members of the GNP Restoration Project the afternoon of the 21st of May of 2009, in the community of Vinho, coming from the city of Chimoio in the province of Manica and having crossed the Púnguè River by boat to the Chitengo tourist camp, where he lodged for three days. 

The parameters of the reconstruction of the infrastructures, restoration of wildlife, protection of the integrity of the ecosystems of the Park, as well as efforts of sustainable economic development of the communities within its zones, were presented to the Ambassador in the sense of providing him with information about how the reconstruction activities of what was destroyed in the civil war in this conservation area are coming along.
 
In GNP, the ambassador, accompanied of his wife, Mrs. Margarida Godinho de Matos, even got to know some works of great impact of the restoration of the Park and of its social responsibility. 

In this scope, he traveled to a location of GNP designated as Site One to witness in action the construction of the Community Education Center (CEC) that is being built with the tripartite financing of the Carr Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Portuguese Cooperation through the Portuguese Institute for Development Support (IPAD), calculated with an investment of about two million dollars. 



In the end of his visit to this location, Mário Godinho de Matos commended the GNP management team in a special way and said to have been impressed with the project that struck him as very valid in the sustainable management of the environment. 

"I am positively impressed with the project completely integrated in the environment that I believe will produce good results in the future for the population and for environmental sustainability – said Mário Godinho de Matos. 

According to our source, the project shows the capacity of the management team of the Restoration Project of GNP to search for solutions that permit looking to the environmental future in a sustainable form.  "The Community Education Center is magnificent and has the objective of finding solutions linked with the environment and its sustainability", emphasized the ambassador of Portugal in Mozambique. 

On the other hand, he stated that he was amazed with the biodiversity of GNP.  "I am also very impressed with the flora and fauna of the Park, given that it was the first time that I visited Gorongosa Park", he concluded. 

The ambassador of Portugal in Mozambique, Mário Godinho de Matos, beyond visiting projects of the reconstruction of the infrastructures, restoration of wildlife, protection of the integrity of the ecosystems of the Park, as well as efforts of sustainable economic development of the communities within its zones, still had the opportunity to visit the dried fruits factory located in Gorongosa Town and did two safaris as well as visiting the Murombodzi Waterfalls in Gorongosa Mountain Range and seeing the sunset in Bué–Maria. 


Remember that the Portuguese, among several other professionals of distinct nationalities, are part of the multidisciplinary team of the Restoration Project of GNP.  The presence of Mário Godinho de Matos is going to emphasize the historical ties that have always united the Portuguese and Mozambicans.  

Pictures and Text:  Carlitos José Sunza
Department of Communications /GNP