Mozambique: Paradise Lost, and Found?
By Bob Shacochis, USA Today Opinion
I had been in the Gorongosa National Park for about a week when Carlos Lopes Pereira, director of conservation, told me that his rangers had found the crocodile.
Gorongosa National Park was once the crown jewel of Mozambique's national parks and one of the most fabled in Africa. But after 28 years of war, the park is now almost empty.
What can you do with 40 million dollars? Greg Carr believes he can rescue a corner of southern Africa. Carr is investing his own money in a project to restore a national park in Mozambique.
In a watershed experiment, the Boston entrepreneur is putting $40 million of his own money into a splendid but ravaged park in Mozambique.
In the center of Mozambique, a country of blinding white beaches and sweeping savannas, velvety green wetlands and spirit-filled forests, an American philanthropist is working to restore a long-for
Gorongosa National Park was once among the top destinations in Africa, with a greater animal concentration than on the Serengeti Plain.
A main challenge of the Gorongosa project is convincing the people living around the park that cooperating will serve their interests.
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An estimated 150,000 people live in and around Gorongosa National Park.
The U.S.-based Carr Foundation is working with the Mozambican government to restore the park. The number of tourists visiting the park is increasing.
Stephen Sapienza, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique
Gorongosa is still considered one of the top birding locations in southeast Africa.
Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique
Gorongosa Mountain sits just outside the park's borders. It is considered sacred to many locals, and is the heart of the park's ecosystem.
Pulitzer Center Staff
Steve Sapienza will be answering your questions about his work as a filmmaker in Gorongosa.
Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer CenterGorongosa, Mozambique
Ok, now I'm going to try to write about this question.
Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer CenterGorongosa, Mozambique
Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique
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Grantee
Jeffrey Barbee was born in the mountains of Colorado and brought up in the African country of Malawi and works as a photojournalist out of his studio in Johannesburg, South Africa. Starting his...
Grantee
Stephanie Hanes is a freelance reporter whose work has appeared in more than a dozen national publications, including Smithsonian Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, Africa...
Grantee
Stephen Sapienza is an award-winning news and documentary producer who has covered a wide range of human security stories, including the HIV crisis in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, child...