Mozambique park revives after war with philanthropist’s aid
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In Mozambique, Greg Carr, an American entrepreneur, partnered with the government in 2008 to restore Gorongosa National Park after its wildlife was decimated by a 15-year civil war.
The war, lasting from 1977 to 1992, reduced the park’s large animal population by roughly 95 percent as soldiers and poachers hunted them. Carr committed roughly $40 million, later exceeding $100 million of his own funds, through the Carr Foundation to a 20-year public-private partnership focused on conservation and community development.
Rangers removed over 27,000 snares and traps, and some animals, like buffalo and painted wolves, were reintroduced to bolster existing populations. Carr emphasized that natural reproduction accounted for the majority of the park’s recovery, as stopping poaching allowed animal numbers to grow. Aerial surveys in 2022 counted over 100,000 large animals, a significant increase from the approximately 7,000 counted in 1994, across 59 percent of the park.
While the animal mix has shifted, with waterbuck now making up a large portion of the herbivore biomass, the park’s total animal mass has returned to pre-war levels. Beyond conservation, the project also focused on improving the lives of 200,000 people living around the park through employment, education, healthcare, and sustainable farming initiatives. In 2018, Mozambique extended the partnership for another 25 years, recognizing the success of the model.
