Gorongosa National Park
Gorongosa National Park | |
---|---|
Location | Mozambique |
Coordinates | 18°45′58″S 34°30′00″E / 18.766°S 34.500°E |
Area | 3,770 km2 (1,460 sq mi) |
Gorongosa National Park is at the southern end of the
Seasonal flooding and waterlogging of the valley, which is composed of a mosaic of soil types, creates a variety of distinct ecosystems. Grasslands are dotted with patches of
This combination of unique features at one time supported some of the densest wildlife populations in all of Africa, including charismatic carnivores, herbivores, and over 500 bird species. But large mammal numbers were reduced by as much as 95% and ecosystems were stressed during the Mozambican Civil War (1977-1992).
The Carr Foundation/Gorongosa Restoration Project, a U.S. non-profit organization, has teamed with the
History
Hunting reserve: 1920–1959
The first official act to protect the Gorongosa region,
In 1935, Mr. Jose Henriques Coimbra was named warden and Jose Ferreira became the reserve's first guide. That same year the Mozambique Company enlarged the reserve to 3,200 square km to protect habitat for
National park: 1960–1980
Many improvements to the new park's trails, roads, and buildings ensued. Between 1963 and 1965 Chitengo camp was expanded to accommodate 100 overnight guests. By the late 1960s, it had two swimming pools, a bar and banquet hall, a restaurant serving 300-400 meals a day, a post office, a petrol station, a first-aid clinic, and a shop selling local handicrafts.
The late 1960s also saw the first comprehensive scientific studies of the Park, led by Armando Rosinha, Director of Gorongosa, and
numbering more than five hundred.Tinley also discovered that many people and most of the wildlife living in and around the park depended on one river, the Vundudzi, which originated on the slopes of nearby Mount Gorongosa. Because the mountain was outside the park's boundaries, Tinley proposed expanding them to include it as a key element in a "Greater Gorongosa Ecosystem" of about 8,200 square kilometers. He and other scientists and conservationists had been disappointed in 1966 when the government reduced the park's area to 3,770 square kilometers.[4]
Meanwhile, Mozambique was in the midst of a war for independence launched in 1964 by the
Civil war: 1981–1994
In 1977, the
The violence increased in and around the Park after that. In 1983 the park was shut down and abandoned. For the next nine years Gorongosa was the scene of frequent battles between opposing forces. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting and aerial bombing destroyed buildings and roads. The park's large mammals suffered huge losses. Both sides in the conflict slaughtered hundreds of elephants for their ivory, selling it to buy arms and supplies. Half of Gorongosa's elephants evolved to be tuskless.[8] Hungry soldiers shot many more thousands of zebras, wildebeest, African buffalo, and other ungulates.[9] Lions survived the war, but several species of top carnivore—leopard, African wild dog, and spotted hyena—were driven locally extinct.[10][11][12]
A cease-fire agreement ended the civil war in 1992 but widespread hunting in the park continued for at least two more years.
Post-war: 1995–2003
A preliminary effort to rebuild Gorongosa National Park's infrastructure and restore its wildlife began in 1994 when the African Development Bank (ADB) started work on a rehabilitation plan with assistance from the European Union and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Fifty new staff were hired, most of them former soldiers.[3]
Restoration: 2004-present
In 2004 the Government of Mozambique and the US-based Carr Foundation agreed to work together to rebuild the park's infrastructure, restore its wildlife populations and spur local economic development—opening an important new chapter in the park's history.[1]
Since the beginning of the project, aerial surveys of wildlife have shown sharp increases in the number of large animals.[14][9]
In the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, park rangers conducted rescue missions using their helicopter, boat, and tractor.[15] According to Gorongosa Project president Gregory Carr, the park was "right in the middle of the impacted area". Roughly half the park was flooded due to the cyclone, but impacts to wildlife were expected to be minimal as the animals would be able to migrate to higher ground. The protection of this area was cited as a reason that the impacts of the flood on the human population were less severe, as the protected wilderness area can moderate the flow of water.[16]
In March 2018, a leopard was captured by camera after 14 years, and additional leopards were reintroduced starting in 2020.[17][18][19] In July 2018 and November 2019, two packs of African wild dogs from South Africa were reintroduced.[10][20][21] Spotted hyena reintroductions began in July 2022.[22]
Ecology
Geology
The Park is in a 4,000-square-km section of the
Hydrology
Gorongosa National Park protects a vast ecosystem defined and shaped by the rivers that flow into Lake Urema. The Nhandungue crosses the Barue Plateau on its way down to the valley. The Nhandue and Mucombeze come from the north. Mount Gorongosa contributes the Vunduzi. Several smaller rivers pour down off the Cheringoma Plateau. Together they comprise the Urema Catchment, an area of about 7,850 square km.
Lake Urema is located in the middle of the valley, about three-quarters of the way down from the Park's northern boundary. The
Vegetation
Scientists have identified three main vegetation types supporting the Gorongosa ecosystem's wealth of wildlife. Seventy-six percent is
Mount Gorongosa has
Mount Gorongosa
In July 2010 the government of Mozambique and the Gorongosa Restoration Project (headed by the U.S.–based Carr Foundation) announced that Gorongosa Mountain would be added to the park bringing its total size to 4067 km2.[25] This designation has contributed to an ongoing conflict between long-term residents of the mountain and representatives of the park.[26]
Wildlife
Gorongosa is home to a large diversity of animals and plants—some of which are found nowhere else in the world. This rich biodiversity creates a complex world where animals, plants and people interact. From the smallest
Many of the park's large
See also
- Ecotourism in Africa
References
- ^ S2CID 4387383.
- ^ "The Lion House". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ a b c Morley, R; Convery, Ian (2014). "Restoring Gorongosa: Some Personal Reflections". Displaced Heritage Responses to Disaster, Trauma, and Loss: 129–142.
- ^ Tinley, Ken L. (1977). Framework of the Gorongosa Ecosystem. University of Pretoria.
- ISBN 0520082664
- ISBN 0253288800
- ISBN 1412838002
- S2CID 239457948.
- ^ a b "National Geographic Blog -". National Geographic Society. 13 December 2018. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020.
two armies treating Gorongosa as a battlefield—and killing its wildlife for meat to feed soldiers and for ivory to buy arms
- ^ PMID 33886594.
- ^ "War and Redemption in Gorongosa". American Scientist. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020.
- ^ PMID 30865663.
- ^ Dutton, Paul (1994). "A dream becomes a nightmare: Mozambique's ferocious 15-year bush war has devastated a once rich and abundant wildlife". African Wildlife. 48 (6): 6–14.
- ^ Dr. Marc Stalmans, Dr. Mike Peel and Dominique Goncalves. "Aerial wildlife count of the Parque Nacional da Gorongosa, Mozambique, October 2018" (PDF).
- ^ Mar 23, CBC Radio · Posted; March 23, 2019 8:46 AM ET | Last Updated. "Park rangers in Mozambique stage a grassroots rescue effort following Cyclone Idai | CBC Radio". CBC. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Leahy, Steven (19 March 2019). "Why Cyclone Idai was so destructive". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ "Return of Leopard to Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique)". Gorongosa National Park. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Mozambique: Leopard seen in Gorongosa for the first time in 14 years". clubofmozambique. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ "Go wild in these countries: five exciting rewilding projects to visit". the Guardian. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- .
- S2CID 210169078.
- ^ "Timeline". Gorongosa National Park. November 2012.
- .
- ^ Angier, Natalie (3 March 2015). "Termites: Guardians of the Soil". The New York Times.
In Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, antelope-like bushbuck and kudu often congregate around termite mounds, and not just for the grazing opportunities. 'The mounds are cooler in the heat of the day and warmer at night,' said Robert Pringle, an ecologist at Princeton and an author of the report in Science. 'They're a very pleasant place to hang out.'
External links
- "Gorongosa National Park". Sofala, Mozambique.
- Leahy, S. (2019). "Why Cyclone Idai was so destructive". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019.
- Fuller-Wright, L. (2019). "Ecologists find a 'landscape of fearlessness' in a war-torn savannah". Princeton University.
- Richardson, H. (2019). "How Gorongosa National Park went from civil war battlefield to conservation leader". Independent.
- Adams, P. (2019). "A Comeback for African National Parks". The New York Times.
- Spera, C.; Baqué I. (2018). "Women lead the charge in healing scars of war in Mozambique wildlife park". The Guardian.
- Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting American Greg Carr Describes Why He Is Devoting His Life And Fortune To Gorongosa (Video)
- National Geographic: "Devastated by war, this African park's wildlife is now thriving - A generation after the civil war, more than 100,000 large animals populate Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, a rare spot of good news"
- "How Teeth Became Tusks, and Tusks Became Liabilities". The New York Times.
- "In Mozambique, a Living Laboratory for Nature's Renewal" The New York Times.
- Nature: "Upgrading protected areas to conserve wild biodiversity"
- VIMEO: Girls Club Gorongosa
- VIMEO: Dominique Gonçalves speaking about Gorongosa at National Geographic Society on Half-Earth Day, 2017
- National Geographic - Children living near national parks are healthier, more prosperous
- Opinion by Thomas L. Friedman. The New York Times
- Quammen, David (May 2019). "How one of Africa's great parks is rebounding from war". National Geographic.
- UNDP: Stimulating Growth - Growing coffee to restore the rainforest and lift people out of poverty also reinforces Africa's greatest wildlife restoration initiative
- Sierra.
- Matthews, Cate (2019). "Greatest Places 2019: Gorongosa National Park". Time.