MIGUEL GONÇALVES

Mozambique

TUSK AWARD FOR WINNER CONSERVATION IN AFRICA

Sponsored by Defender landmines and poaching stemming from Mozambique’s civil war almost wiped out the local population.

“Prior to 2010, you couldn’t really see anything,” he says, as several dark-skinned animals, once thought to be a sub-species, slink by.

But better protection and the establishment of wildlife corridors has seen numbers rise to a point that’s almost problematic.

“Elephants are beautiful if you know you’re going to have breakfast, lunch and dinner guaranteed,” sighs Miguel, referencing ongoing problems of space management and crop raiding. “If you don’t, they're an issue.”

One of the biggest challenges he faces is managing wildlife alongside fishing and subsistence farming communities residing within or on the outskirts of the park.

Emphasising the importance of “building a trust relationship,” he says, “people who didn’t like me now call me friends.”

We drive past the site where he built a small school several years ago. Although nothing grand, it played a significant role in changing attitudes.

“You think big all the time but it’s the small things that bring you into contact with people,” says the 49-year-old family man who, preferring to steer clear of any limelight, humbly plays down his contributions.

But behind the scenes he’s become a motor, driving the success of the newly formed park with work that started as a marine biologist, mapping coral reefs and investigating the ornamental fish trade.

Instrumental in composing an application for the park to earn Unesco World Heritage status, his work is also raising the profile of Mozambique.

“This place is unique,” he enthuses, citing the rare opportunity to watch humpbacks breaching in the Indian Ocean and elephants grazing in the dunes.

Although of Portuguese descent, Miguel was raised in Maputo during the civil war and considers himself thoroughly Mozambican - despite his country’s ongoing difficulties and his unfaltering loyalty as a lifetime supporter of Liverpool FC.

“What’s important is the park and people around. The rest I can’t fix. But I give 100% every day.”