One Man's Plan To Save A Natural Treasure

U.S. Entrepreneur Is Trying To Help Mozambicans By Reviving Gorongosa National Park

(CBS)  This story was first published on Oct. 26, 2008. It was updated on June 25, 2009.

How much can one man do to save a desperate nation? American entrepreneur Greg Carr is finding out, throwing himself and much of his fortune into one of the poorest places on earth. Mozambique, in East Africa, is a country of spectacular beauty, but it's been laid waste by decades of war, by malaria and by HIV.

It takes a lot of vision to see opportunity there, but as correspondent Scott Pelley first reported last fall, Carr thinks he's found it, in a wildlife park called Gorongosa, which he believes could be the salvation of a nation, and maybe a model for the world.

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Greg Carr wanted Scott Pelley's first experience of Gorongosa to be just like his was four years ago - a helicopter ride to see this park's vast size and breathtaking diversity.

"When we flew over this I said, 'This is it.' You know, because, I mean, it's beautiful. It's magnificent," Carr remembers.

It's almost 1,500 square miles of African wilderness - lakes, plains, and even a rain forest.

Gorongosa spreads across the heart of Mozambique, a country that lies along the east coast of Southern Africa on the Indian Ocean.

As Carr and the 60 Minutes flew over the landscape, they saw hippopotami, antelope and elephant. But not many - Gorongosa is a tragedy in two parts, with the loss of its animals and the suffering of its people, whose lives haven't improved much in a few hundred years.

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Read co-producer Rebecca Peterson's personal account of traveling to and visiting Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique.

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Asked why he chose this place, Carr tells Pelley, "Gorongosa was, most people consider, the most popular national park in all of Africa and the most density of animals, the most beauty, the most diversity of ecosystems. So, you have one of the most beautiful places in the world and you also have perhaps the worst poverty of anywhere in the world, side by side."

To Carr, that's an opportunity. It's the same kind of business sensibility that made him a fortune. Right out of Harvard in the mid-1980's, he and a partner developed a hot new product called voicemail. In 1998, he cashed out to the tune of $200 million and devoted himself to bringing entrepreneurship to charity.

"So, the idea is take the beauty of the park and use that to do human development. Attract the tourists who will spend the money to create the jobs and lift everybody outta poverty. For an entrepreneur, it's kind of a compelling opportunity to, you know, one plus one equals ten," he explains.

Carr's non-profit foundation has an agreement with the Mozambican government to develop Gorongosa Park over the next 20 years. Carr is putting in $40 million of his own money to try to bring Gorongosa back to what it once was.

In the 1960's, before the region was engulfed by war, Gorongosa was perhaps the best wildlife park in Africa; royalty and Hollywood stars came on safari. There were hundreds of lions. So many, a pride even took over a building.

But that was then. When a documentary film about the park was made in the 1960's, there were 500 lions in Gorongosa, 2,000 elephants, 14,000 Cape buffalo and 3,000 hippos. It took years of war and poaching to get it done, but by the end, almost all of those animals were gone. In one of the world's greatest wildlife habitats, the animals were forced from house and home.

[ScarlettKittypants]

Thank you for highlighting the wonderful work he is during for animals and humans alike.

[clm1950]

Thank you for doing this story and follow-up. It is a compelling piece proponents of keeping wild animals in captivity should take note of it.

[libover30-2009]

Thank you CBS for doing this great story and thank you Greg for being there to do this piece. It is beautiful that you want to help these people and at the same time bring back the creatures that deserve to be there.

If there were more people like you, there would be less suffering and maybe then the world would be a better place!

Thank you!

[Natashachick]

This piece is so wonderful and touching. People that have a soft spot for animals have a huge heart and are truly kind and selfless! I would like to see more positive pieces like this on 60 Minutes please!

Brilliant! Thank you...Ive been following Gorongosa's progress on and off, reading whatever I can, and so this was extremely interesting.
Wow, Greg Carr is a real God send!

[Hunter-Emma26]

How can i come in touch with Mr.Carr? Please send me an address that i can write to him with.

[mussicadzi]

Mozambique has a big potential to welcome tourists and Gorongosa is really a wonderful place. I would recommend to those of you that can afford to travel to Africa to come here and see for yourself the good that this 20 year''s project is doing and how is changing the situation of local communities. People like Greg Carr deserve respect and admiration and I wish that other wealthy people were doing similar things.

[MekhongKurt]

I applaud Mr. Carr for his work.

To those who argue he should devote some of his wealth, do a little research. He has founded these:

Kennedy School of Government (http://www.hks.harvard.edu/cchrp/)

Gregory C. Carr Foundation http://(www.carrfoundation.org/)

He has devoted considerable money to various causes -- right inside the U.S. And he has been on the boards of several other philanthropic foundations.

So, if he wants to branch out to a country where the poverty makes most of our poor look rather better off -- and no, I''ve not cold-hearted to our own homeless, etc. -- it''s hard to see why he shouldn''t. Heck, I''m an American living in Thailand, and while I''ve seen plenty severe poverty, I haven''t seen any so bad as the people in Mozambique suffer (according to what I''ve read, and heard from people who''ve been there).

As for the political diatribes -- please get a life. This is a story about one man''s charity work in Africa, not our presidential election.

[ceejay8888]

Hi All
Mr. Carr is doing a fantastic job putting all his own money in that country. I think only when one have seen death because of hunger and the poverty over there,can you realy know the severity of famon in a country and what is happening right now in Zimbabwe. If one man can make such a huge difference, wish more rich millionaires can do something like this.....boils down to care for your neighbour phylosophy.......The $$$ is a huge help over there....and it goes a very long way, food hospitals, schools, etc.
Mr. Carr, thank you for your help and opening your heart to these poor people.
CV - former south african
San Diego

[sandrita1-2009]

Gorongosa was originally a preserve for trophy hunters. Once the numbers of animals are restored, what''s to prevent these hunters from persuading officials with money to let them come in again and kill the animals? If that happens, what is the point of Mr. Carr''s efforts?

[tvdos]

I am disappointed in the producers'' characterization of Mr. Carr as a savior without any critical consideration of the dynamics of power here. Why is it that someone with so much money can gain so much power to be able come into a huge land area and make it a personal playground- to dictate how things should run? It is a contemporary version of prazeros (European lords of large pieces of territory in Mozambique''s history) and a continuation of the colonial history in the area of outsiders coming in and directing how things should operate.

60 Minutes is known for its balanced and investigative reporting. Why was this not followed through here? I know for a fact that there is a lot of controversy in Gorongosa over Mr. Carr and his group''s plans for the park and the district, and none of this received any attention. The residents of the district were made to look poor, desperate, passive, and uncritical. This is far from the reality.

The result of this feature is disappointing- the producers were hosted by Carr, and present his story only. The result is more like propaganda for the Carr Foundation than a really balanced look at the situation in Gorongosa on the ground or the history of conservation in the region.

[walkshe]

I think everyone here forgets the fact that Greg Carr is spending his own money, money that HE made, on this venture. It''s his choice how he spends it. The world has gotten so small that helping on a global scale is much the same as helping your neighbor in this day and age. I applaud his efforts. Think of all of the millionaires and billionaires that spend money only on themselves, never helping others, or if they do help, it''s in a way that they never dirty their hands with an honest days work. Why should politics be brought into play here. It''s one man doing good work - plain and simple.

[au_fait]

yes vote for Obama, even more reason to move our jobs overseas as taxes on our companies will rise (it will happen). you really do not understand why companies move and people with money move/hide it. You want to do something, give tax incentives to the companies that will bring their jobs back home. Oh no we can''t do that as that would be benefits for large firms. You want fair, flat tax everyone. Also reduce and ween people from handouts, illegals to begin. If they don''t like it, let them go home.

[oldpoet-2009]

Posted by tradewinns
it''''s so nice that mr. carr is spending money to help people. is there any reason he, and the others like him, can not do so much good right here in the good ole usa? every night there''''s comments about how we have hungry, poor, etc. people here in the usa. why not take advantage of the opportunity here?
jole adopts minority children from their home country and takes them to whereever she''''s living at the time. this may come as a surprise, but the usa has an abundance of minority children with few chances for adoption. how many would she/him/they like?
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I agree. I''m sick of all these rock stars, movie stars and rich jerks who seem to think that no one here in America needs help. I understand the problems in other parts of the world but hell, let''s fix the problems in our own back yard. I''m a St. Vincent de Paul volunteer who sees the poverty and disease right here in America every day.

[enghox]

Our daughter is part of a group from the University of Portland who are going to Afica this summer to establish a permanent mission program for the students in Afica. This sounds like a great place for them to visit and establish a working relationship that would bring students back every year to work. Please send us the email address of Jim''s foundation so we can get them in touch with each other. We were jsut in Africa this summer and the wildlife and the people will bring tourists. Mr. Carr has the right idea for helping these people become self reliant.

[quashgal]

I am a single woman running a small jungle resort in Belize, Central America. I have spent the last 17 years rescuing wildlife and continue. We are bottling spring water from caves here in an effort to raise money for saving these animals.
I am interested in investing in land for a small eco/tourist destination in the future, AND more importantly to help rescue wildlife over there as well and/or helping some way with this project in my free time by way of volunteer work some months out of the year.I have already been thinking of heading to Rwanda to do the same and now this came up.
Please write me and send contact names to Donna Young. E-mail: [e-mail] I want to participate. Thank You for your vision!

[quashgal]

I am a single woman running a small jungle resort in Belize, Central America. I have spent the last 17 years rescuing wildlife and continue. We are bottling spring water from caves here in an effort to raise money for saving these animals.
I am interested in investing in land for a small eco/tourist destination in the future, AND more importantly to help rescue wildlife over there as well and/or helping some way with this project in my free time by way of volunteer work some months out of the year.I have already been thinking of heading to Rwanda to do the same and now this came up.
Please write me and send contact names to Donna Young. E-mail: [e-mail] I want to participate. Thank You for your vision!

[quashgal]

I am a single woman running a small jungle resort in Belize, Central America. I have spent the last 17 years rescuing wildlife and continue. We are bottling spring water from caves here in an effort to raise money for saving these animals.
I am interested in investing in land for a small eco/tourist destination in the future, AND more importantly to help rescue wildlife over there as well and/or helping some way with this project in my free time by way of volunteer work some months out of the year.I have already been thinking of heading to Rwanda to do the same and now this came up.
Please write me and send contact names to Donna Young. E-mail: [e-mail] I want to participate. Thank You for your vision!

[quashgal]

I am a single woman running a small jungle resort in Belize, Central America. I have spent the last 17 years rescuing wildlife and continue. We are bottling spring water from caves here in an effort to raise money for saving these animals.
I am interested in investing in land for a small eco/tourist destination in the future, AND more importantly to help rescue wildlife over there as well and/or helping some way with this project in my free time by way of volunteer work some months out of the year.I have already been thinking of heading to Rwanda to do the same and now this came up.
Please write me and send contact names to Donna Young. E-mail: [e-mail] I want to participate. Thank You for your vision!

[spiritofhope]

Sorry about the multiple postings. The "publish" button kept saying that it was deactivated and would be back on shortly.