Coastal East Africa

Peter Bechtel
© WWF/Lee Poston

As the driving force behind the creation of Quirimbas National Park in Mozambique, there is little question about Peter Bechtel's credentials as a conservationist. But as he has demonstrated through his work over the last 20 years in Mozambique and Swaziland, he is also, and perhaps foremost, a humanist. Bechtel disavowed the conventional practice of "simply giving things to the poor" and instead focused on building partnerships with local communities, aimed at the sustainable management of resources in a way that addresses human and environmental issues at the same time.

The son of two college professors, Bechtel grew up in the town of Carlisle, Pa. and after graduating with a degree in biology from Dickinson College in 1981, he set off for Africa with the Peace Corps. It was there in Swaziland that he gained experience in rural development and agriculture and determined that what poor communities really needed was investment - in roads and bridges, yes, but also in education and farming. And Bechtel argued that there was much the communities could contribute as well. "Even the poorest people have something to offer," he says, "even if it is only their time, energy and ideas."

While in Swaziland, Bechtel learned of challenges facing communities in neighboring Mozambique, serious problems like resource depletion due to illegal fishing, and an increasingly dangerous conflict between humans and elephants. In many parts of Africa, including Mozambique, the only way to address issues of resource ownership and management is for the government to declare a national park. Unlike the United States, where parks are often set aside solely for recreational use, national parks in Africa are multifunctional: in addition to their value to tourism, people often live and farm within them, and the parks allow for sustainable management of resources, one example being the marine protected areas that permit but regulate fishing in order to preserve population and catch levels.

Mozambican locals had requested the creation of such a protected area, and Bechtel made it his mission to help them establish a park that would benefit all - local residents, visitors, elephants, fish and other wildlife, and the land and sea they share. But while he had the support of local fisherman, government employees, tourism investors and politicians, financial backing was not forthcoming. So Bechtel bet the farm - almost literally - and worked without pay for months until WWF came forward with the funding necessary to get things done.

And so eighteen months later, with financial and political support from WWF and the participation of 40 villages, Bechtel achieved his goal when the Mozambican government officially created Quirimbas National Park, a 3,300 square mile area of wilderness, islands, bays and open sea that is the largest marine protected area in Africa and the first national park anywhere to be requested by local inhabitants.

The next step, according to Bechtel, is to increase food security through better fishing and agricultural practices and "insert tourism in a way that doesn't destroy Quirimbas - through love [and] by getting local people involved in the hospitality industry. They must be players, not observers." Bechtel believes that the Quirimbas model can be find success elsewhere, and while he maintains that he still has "promises to keep" in Quirimbas, he mentions--with a knowing smile--a nearby archipelago as a possible second act. Seeing what he has already accomplished, one can be sure it would be unwise to bet against him.