FACULTY

Faculty

The Gorongosa Master’s in Conservation Biology faculty consists of a talented, knowledgeable team of professors who generously donate their time to teach intensive courses in the master’s curriculum. Faculty members also act as thesis advisors to students and help them in the design and development of their research. We are very grateful for our amazingly dedicated faculty from around the world! 
 

Faculty Members

Dr. Salomão Bandeira
Course taught:  Marine Conservation
Institutes:  Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas
Research:  coastal dunes; environmental management and restoration; mangroves; sea grass
 
Dr. Laura Barraza
Courses taught:  Research and Thesis I and II; Perspectives and Methods in Conservation Social Science Research
Institution:  Gorongosa National Park
Course taught:  Evolution
Research:  human evolution; mammalian evolution; paleoanthropology; paleoecology
 
Dr. Adrian Garside
Course taught:  Conflict and Conservation
Institutions:  The Marjan Centre, King’s College London; The Changing Character of War Centre, University of Oxford
Research:  policy and implementation addressing violent conflicts; wildlife conservation and politicised violence in South Sudan, Camera trap surveys from the Game Reserves in South Sudan
 
Dr. Teresa Gamito
Courses taught:  Politics of Conservation and Governance; Conservation, Ecotourism, and Rural Development
Institution:  University of Lisbon
Research:  sustainable/strategic territory development
 
Dr. Jen Guyton
Course taught:  Science Communication
Institution:  Gorongosa National Park
Focus:  Science communication; visual storytelling
 
João Paulo Fernando Macuio, MSc
Course taught:  Marine Conservation
Institute:  Universidade Lúrio, Faculdade de Ciências Naturais
Research:  density and structure of Tridacnas (giant clams) and sharks and rays; movement and settlement of coral and bivalve larvae
 
Dr. Cristina Máguas
Course taught:  Plant Biology and Ecology
Institution:  Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
Research:  ecophysiology and ecology of Mediterranean and tropical vegetation; invasive plant species; stable isotope analysis of plant and ecosystem plant functioning; determination of the geographic origin  plant products using stable isotope analysis
 
Dr. Tara Massad
Courses taught:  Introduction to Conservation Biology; Research and Thesis I and II; Methods in Conservation Biology
Institution:  Gorongosa National Park
Research:  chemical ecology; plant-insect interactions; reforestation; tropical forest ecology and diversity
 
Dr. Ara Monadjem
Course taught:  Ecology and Conservation of Mammals; Methods for Biodiversity Surveys
Institution:  University of Eswatini
Research:  conservation, ecology, mammalogy, ornithology, systematics, taxonomy
 
Dr. Piotr Naskrecki
Courses taught:  Systematics and Bioinformatics; Entomology:  Insect Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation of African Ecosystems; Methods for Biodiversity Surveys
Institution:  Gorongosa National Park
Research:  biodiversity; conservation; entomology; taxonomy 
 
Bibiana Américo Fernando Nassongole, MSc
Course taught:  Marine Conservation
Institution: Universidade Lúrio, Faculdade de Ciências Naturais
Research:  fisheries management; macroinvertebrates
 
Dr. Anders Nielsen
Course taught:  Applied Pollination Biology
Institution:  University of Oslo
Research:  agro-ecology; climate change; ecological networks; ecosystem services; insect behavior; plant-pollinator interactions; pesticides; statistical modelling
 
Dr. Jorge Palmeirim
Course taught:  Ecology and Conservation of Birds
Institution:  Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
Research:  bats; biodiversity; conservation; ornithology; pasture-woodland; spatial modelling; tropical ecology
 
Dr. Octavio Paulo
Courses taught:  Conservation Genetics
Institution:  Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
Research:  bioinformatics; conservation genetics; genomics; phylogenetics 
 
Dr. Rui Rebelo
Institution:  Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
Research:  emergent diseases; herpetology; high nature value farmlands; invasion ecology; sea turtle ecology and conservation
 
Dr. Ana Ribeiro
Course taught:  Techniques in Molecular Biology (in collaboration with Ivete Maquia)
Research:  agrobiotecnology applied to the management and characterization of agro-forestry resources; biodiversity; biology of plant-environment interactions; ethnobotany
 
Dr. Natasha Ribeiro
Course taught:  Restoration and Ecosystem Services
Institution:  Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering University of Eduardo Mondlane
Research:  conservation and forest restoration; fire ecology; evaluation and environmental impact assessments; forest biomass and carbon sequestration; remote sensing
 
Dr. Mark-Oliver Rödel
Course taught:  Ecology and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles; Methods for Biodiversity Surveys
Institution:  Museum für Naturkunde
Research:  amphibians; conservation; ecology; environmental change; reptiles; systematics
 
Dr. Maria Jose Silva
Course taught:  Statistical Analysis and Experimental Design
Institution:  School of Agriculture; University of Lisbon
Research:  biometry; sustainable agriculture
 
Dr. Marina Temudo
Course taught:  Culture, Land Use, and the Environment
Institution:  School of Agriculture; University of Lisbon
Research:  interface between agriculture, environment and society in the tropics, within a political agronomy and human and political ecology theoretical framework

Academics

We aim to become an internationally recognized M. Sc. program dedicated to training competent and capable biologists and conservation leaders in Mozambique. Learn More. 

Admissions

Thank you to all the applicants for the 2020-2022 cohort of the master’s program!  We received many great applications. We are currently closed for admissions. 

Faculty

The Gorongosa Master’s in Conservation Biology faculty consists of a talented, knowledgeable team of professors who generously donate their time to teach intensive courses in the master’s curriculum. List of faculty here. 

Information for Faculty

Our incredible guest faculty make the Gorongosa Master’s in Conservation Biology Program possible. We are extremely grateful for your time and dedication to promoting conservation through education. More information here. 

Our Consortium Partners

The Gorongosa Master’s in Conservation Biology Program is made possible through partnerships with three Mozambican institutions, the Universidade Lúrio, Universidade Zambeze, and the Instituto Superior Politécnico de Manica, in partnership with the Universidade de Lisboa. Read more here. 

Student Life

Students in the Gorongosa Master’s in Conservation Biology Program have the rare privilege of calling Gorongosa National Park their home for two years. Read more. 

Student Research

Our students conduct their thesis research on an impressive variety of topics in Gorongosa National Park and its buffer zone. See here for a list of current research projects, and films about their work. 

Our Mission

Our Mission

Advance an integrated multi-partner approach to conservation and to people-centred development. The Gorongosa Project protects the Park’s biodiversity and ecosystem services and unlocks its economic potential for the community inhabitants of the Gorongosa Buffer Zone, Sofala Province, Mozambique and further afield.

Our Vision

A thriving, biodiversity-rich, Greater Gorongosa conservation landscape, which supports Sofala Province as an engine for resilient and sustainable development enabling nature experiences and wellbeing for its people, enriching all of Mozambique and the world.

A Park for Peace

On 1 August, 2019 a historic ceremony was held in Gorongosa to celebrate the Cessation of Hostilities Accord between the leaders of the Government of Mozambique and the opposition Renamo Party. The accord established Gorongosa National Park (GNP) as a ‘Park for Peace’, delivering human development to the communities that share the greater landscape.

Learn More

Read Our Annual report