Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

Carlos Lopes Pereira

Director of Conservation Services

Maputo (Mozambique)

I had the chance to grow up in many different communities around Mozambique, including Katandica where my brother was born, Chemba, and Chimoio, which are all in the area of Gorongosa National Park.  The idea to work with animals came naturally to me because I always lived in rural areas with a lot of interaction with nature; veterinary science gave me the best way to accomplish this desire. 

I received my training in many places.  I earned my veterinary degree at the University of Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo and did a masters degree in veterinary science in Edinburgh, Scotland.  I was also fortunate to be able to continue building my experience and skills through specialized courses and in-service training in many parts of the world including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Czechoslovakia (Bratislava and Kosice), Holland (University of Utrecht), and England (University of Reading).  My motivation then – and now – in my work is the chance to learn new things all of the time.

During the periods of war in Mozambique I didn’t have much opportunity to work with wildlife in their natural environment, but I stayed involved with the Maputo zoo and through my work teaching at the University of Eduardo Mondlane in the veterinary faculty.  I was also lucky to have a friend with a Cesna airplane who was willing to fly me to more remote areas so that I could continue to work in the rural areas, even during challenging times.  Now I live both at Gorongosa National Park and in Maputo with my wife Dagmar, who, as a parasitologist, assists me in both the lab and the field.

The Gorongosa Restoration Project intrigued and attracted me because it was a new initiative with lots of promise and because it offered the opportunity to work with many high quality people in a prime conservation area.  It also offered me a chance to express my concerns about conservation and to do something about it in one of my country’s most important wildlife areas.

Franziska Steinbruch

Manager of Scientific Services

Germany

My name is Franziska Steinbruch. I am Manager of Scientific Services of Gorongosa National Park and responsible for the coordination of research and monitoring activities in the park. My professional background is in hydrogeology, GIS and remote sensing with experience in the development of technical facilities and research capacity in Mozambique. It is my objective to assist the Gorongosa National Park restoration project in the establishment of a state-of-the-art Scientific Service and to provide scientific advice to the park management.

Justino Carlos Davane

Conservation Assistant

Morrumbala, Zambezia Province (Moçambique)

I was born in Morrumbala District in the Province of Zambezia, Mozambique.  I love the smell of the land when the first raindrops begin to fall. 

I had the opportunity to train in Flora and Fauna Management at the College of African Wildlife Management in Mweka, Tanzania.  At Gorongosa National Park, I am responsible for the management of the Wildlife Sanctuary and for fire management, and I contribute to law enforcement within the Park. It is a great honor to be part of the management of this great project to restore the Park and to be able to work with a strong team of professionals.

I would love one day to be able to sleep peacefully, especially in the dry season, without hearing the sound of fire alarms.  Also, without exaggerating, I would like poaching to decrease by more than 90% in the next 5 years, and I would love to see Gorongosa National Park return to be what it was in the past, or maybe even better.

Wildlife Sanctuary Team

Macane Jornal, Bento Talaca, Salazar Focumbe, João Bazi, José Lino Da Paz, Zembe Braunde, Dreque Blaque, Carlitos Eliasse, and Sebastão Tomé, the hard-working team that keeps our Wildlife Sanctuary – the backbone of Gorongosa National Park’s animal reintroduction program – running.  These ten men work in the Park’s Conservation Services Department.

The men come from nearby communities, including Gorongosa Town, Bela Vista and Vinho, to work at the Park.  For most of these men, this job is their first.  Prior to coming to work for the Park, they worked their family farms, growing cotton to sell as well as vegetables and maize to feed their families.  Now they are able to take the income they earn in their jobs at the Park in order to improve and grow these farms, improving the promise of a better future for their families. 

The team clears roads, builds firebreaks, fights wildfires, and maintains the “boma” (the release pen for re-introduced animals). The team has been a key part in building facilities to house and support Sanctuary staff, including the Park’s veterinary laboratory.  They also patrol the Sanctuary’s electrified boundary fence daily to inspect for damage, a function that also serves as a significant deterrent for illegal hunters who seek game inside the Sanctuary.

As they talk about their experience working for the Park, these men all express pride in their work and satisfaction about their contributions to the Park’s restoration.  In particular, they stress their interest in adding to and improving their skills (most have at best a primary school education) and in learning more about conservation, about which they just used to hear stories.  Now, they are participating in these stories, learning how to understand the wildlife living within the Sanctuary – when they are well, when they are ill, what they need – and are a key part in making sure the animal reintroductions go smoothly. 

The men are also helping spread the message of conservation in their communities, explaining to their families and friends in their home towns about what they do and why it is important, and about why it is important to not harm nature.

“It is interesting for humanity,” says Sebastão Tomé, the team’s leader. “We like it a lot.”