Gorongosa Mountain Restoration and Preservation Campaign focuses on education, reforestation and sustainable agriculture.
Raising awareness among local communities and other stakeholders about the need and importance of reducing deforestation, restoring forests by planting trees, preserving forest remnants and strengthening community engagement is the focus of a forest preservation and conservation program involving the people living on Mount Gorongosa.
The initiative includes creating conditions for agricultural production in Gorongosa Park’s sustainable development zone, establishing community nurseries and reforestation campaigns in degraded areas. Management of forests still standing and an awareness campaign about the importance of the Gorongosa Mountains for the maintenance of life for all living beings are a primary focus.
The Park provided 15 TVS motorcycles to community leaders and 87 bicycles to the community facilitators of the Canda Regulado located in the villages in the Serra da Gorongosa area. The bicycles and motorbikes are expected to make it easier for the project leaders to carry out field activities with community members.
“Local leaders should support conservation by raising awareness among the communities,” Gorongosa National Park Administrator Pedro Muagura said. “Young people should join forces to reach out to everyone in their communities and encourage seedling production in each community nursery.”
Pedro Mussengue, Gorongosa District Administrator, appealed to the beneficiaries to use the resources for which they are intended.
“Saving the mountain is a priority,” Mussengue said. “Many of the river sources that flow into Gorongosa start on the mountain and Serra da Gorongosa is home to some of our endemic species.”
The event was marked by poems, traditional song and dance and theater with messages about conserving and protecting Serra da Gorongosa. Maps showing the loss of forest cover from 1977 to 2024 and posters featuring the actions taken to reverse the situation, such as the production of shade coffee, reforestation with native species and the need to manage the remaining forests.
The Gorongosa Mountain Restoration and Preservation Campaign is part of the Gorongosa Park’s Sustainable Livelihoods Project and is funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Gorongosa Restoration Project, and the Gorongosa District Government. The event was held April 18 at the Nhamadzi-Canda Administrative Post.
On May 31, the Régulo de Canda, together with the leaders of the neighborhoods and their families, held a traditional ceremony, asking their ancestors for a blessing and supporting the success of the project’s activities.
