Irish Aid Seminar on Conservation efforts in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park

On Friday, October 9^th Irish Aid welcomed the co-founder of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy Mr. Greg Carr to deliver a seminar on conservation efforts in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. Irish Aid is proud to support the Gorongosa Community Programme in balancing the needs of Gorongosa’s wildlife & people as part of our strategy to support sustainability & inclusion and reduce poverty & vulnerability in Mozambique.

During the seminar, Mr. Carr addressed attendees from Irish Aid and Trinity College Dublin, who collaborate actively with the Park, and from the Irish National Parks and Wildlife Service, speaking about his own extensive support of the restoration of Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. The park has been devastated by Mozambique’s civil war (1977-92), when some 95% of wildlife was slaughtered to fund the conflict.

In 2014, Irish Aid provided €155,000 to support Gorongosa’s Community Health and Education Programme, the focus of which is closely linked to Irish Aid’s work in Mozambique.

The Gorongosa Restoration Project adopts a 21^st Century conservation model which balances the needs of Gorongosa’s wildlife with the needs of its people, who continue to face huge challenges of food insecurity, limited access to health services and education and poverty-related social problems. The Project supports education, health care and economic development for roughly 250,000 people from 16 communities just outside the Park borders.

In 2014, Irish Aid provided €155,000 to support Gorongosa’s Community Health and Education Programme, the focus of which is closely linked to Irish Aid’s work in Mozambique.

As Ireland’s largest bilateral development programme, Irish Aid’s strategy in Mozambique commits Irish resources to targeting and benefiting the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society in order to support sustainability and inclusion and reduce poverty and vulnerability.

Our work specifically aims to:

• strengthen the capacity to bolster resilience of poor people at the local level
• improve household food security and nutrition
• improve access, quality and use of basic health and education services
• strengthen transparency and participation in development processes