Simien National Park

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Simien National Park
Simien National Park (between Geech and Chennek Campsite)
Simien National Park (between Geech and Chennek Campsite)
Simien National Park (Ethiopia)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
Coordinates: 13 ° 14 ′ 11 ″  N , 38 ° 22 ′ 6 ″  E
Location: Ethiopia
Surface: 179 km²
Founding: 1969
i3 i6

The 179 km² Simien National Park (also Semien National Park or Sämen National Park ) is located in the north of Ethiopia . Its name is derived from the Amharic word sammén (ሰሜን) "north". It is best known for the impressive mountain landscape. The park covers altitudes from 1900 to over 4500 meters above sea level. At 4533  m , Ras Daschän is the highest mountain in Ethiopia and the seventh highest in Africa. The park was set up to protect various endemic and sometimes very endangered animal species. These include the archraven , the Ethiopian ibex (or walia ), the Ethiopian wolf, and the jelada (or blood-breasted baboon).

From 1967 to 1969 the writer CW Nicol worked on building the park.

geography

The park is located on the rugged northern edge of the extensive, undulating Geech plateau in the western part of the Simien massif. It occupies a narrow strip on a 1000 m high steep slope and a strip at its lower end. The area lies north and west of the 4,533  m high Ras Daschän, the highest peak in Ethiopia, which, together with other mountain peaks, towers over the park.

This massif, part of a huge volcanic dome of igneous basalts , was formed about 75 million years ago and went through a phase of volcanism that ended 4 to 5 million years ago, and was followed by glaciation and severe erosion . Today it is deeply carved by wooded ravines and steep cliffs that stretch for over 35 km along the northern edge. The plateau is divided from north to south by the Mayshasha River and is its main catchment area . There are fast flowing permanent watercourses and high waterfalls that drain into tributaries of the Tekeze in the northeast and south .

The soils formed from volcanic substrate are fertile, but severely degraded by overgrazing and have very little profitability. In alpine and rocky areas they become lithosols . Since its inception, the park has consisted of around 30% cultivated land .

climate

The mean annual rainfall is 1550 mm. The main part of it falls in two rainy seasons : February to March and July to September. The rainy seasons have decreased significantly since the 1960s. The minimum temperature ranges from −2.5 to 4 ° C, the maximum temperature is 11 to 18 ° C. During the day there are often dry winds , at night there can be frost and snow is possible on the summit of Ras Daschän .

Ecosystem

flora

The Simien Mountains belong to the Afro-alpine Center of Plant Diversity and, due to their remote location, have a previously unknown number of native species. It is assumed that there are around 5 to 10 species, a very small number compared to other afromontane regions. The park, on the edge of the Palaearctic , has a representative share of the Ethiopian Tropical Seasonal Highland BIOMS ( Ethiopian Tropical Seasonal Highland biome ). The lush vegetation grows in four height-related zones: Afromontan forest, Hypericum forest, Afromontant grassland and Afroalpine moorland. The species in the two last-named biomes can adapt xeromorphically to extreme altitude conditions and develop a large number of new species . However, heavy overgrazing has led to the desertification of the grasslands. In 1996, 25% of 900 hectares of Afro-Alpine vegetation were heavily overgrazed, 60% heavily grazed and only 15% more or less natural.

Most of the species-poor forest below 3000 m has been cut down, except in the gorges, where some water pears , East African junipers and African olive trees ( Olea europaea ssp. Africana ) are still present. The steep slopes, Glen edges and ridges are coarse tussock grass , rocks herbs and small bushes like the African dock ( Rumex nervosus ) covered, isolated with the Labiatae -type Otostegia Minucci , the North African cranesbill ( Geranium arabic ), thyme and Klee and climbing plants, such as the Semien clematis and the small-fruited burdock bedstraw .

At an altitude of 3000 to 3800 m, the tree heather and St. John's wort were once predominant. Few of the trees are left, as the area was cleared for grain cultivation and there were no new plantings.

From 3800 m to the alpine zone there is subalpine grassland , in which giant lobelia , tree heather, torch lily ( Kniphofia foliosa ), Abyssinian rose , the yellow-flowering primrose Primula verticillata (a palaearctic species), nightshade species, African strawflower , alpine lady's mantle as well as subspecies of the nettle and the lichen Usnea occur. The thick-leaf plant Rosularia simiensis and ten grass species are endemic to the Simien Mountains. The endemic tussock grass Festuca gilbertiana is only known from the Geech plateau. This tufted grassland, which used to form a colorful mosaic , has been largely replaced by short grasses of the Festuca macrophylla and Carex erythrorhiza varieties and worn by cattle, which also pollute the streams. Above this level there is an alpine moor landscape with mosses belonging to the Grimmiacea family .

fauna

A total of 21 mammal species have been identified, including seven endemic species. However, due to human interventions that resulted in changes in the habitat , the situation for wild animals in the park has worsened, also because of the spread of grazing cattle.

The Ethiopian Ibex, which is largely endemic to the Simien Mountains, lives secluded on the cliffs of the northern rocky slopes and also outside the park. Before the National Park was designated in 1969, its population had been reduced to around 300 animals. In 1989 the number increased to 400, but after poaching had driven the animals further east, in 1996 only 200 animals were counted. After the incorporation of two further reserves, the number of animals in the park was estimated at 623 in November 2005.

The Ethiopian wolf , which only occurs in Ethiopia and is considered the rarest canid in the world, depends on the receding area of ​​the tufted grass habitat. In 1977 there were only 20 individual animals, in 2003 40 animals were observed in the park, in 2005 a total of 71, most of them outside the park. More abundant mammals are the Dschelada - coat and Olive Baboon , the grivet , the Guereza from the kind of black-and-white colobus monkeys , the spotted hyena , the African Golden Wolf , the leopard , the caracal , the Serval , the African Wildcat and several large Herbivores such as the brush-eared pig , the bushbuck , the crown duiker and the klipspringer , which are now also withdrawing from the park. Five species of small mammals are native to Ethiopia.

The park is located within the endemic bird sanctuary "Central Ethiopian Highlands". Among the 137 recorded in 2001 bird species are 16 endemic to Ethiopia: the wattled ibis , the Strichelkiebitz , the black-winged lovebird , the monk oriole , the Schwarzkopfgirlitz , the Abyssinian catbird , the gold necklace Pieper , the White Star beak and thick-billed raven . Abyssinian rock pigeon , mirror wheatear and monochrome wheatear occur in the cliff area. Typical of the afrotropic highlands are the brown-naped francolin , the monk bush thrush and the alpine crow . There are also 25 species of birds of prey, including the lammergeyer , four other species of vulture, and four species of eagles .

protection

Because of its biological importance, the park was the focus of many conservation activities and was one of the first world heritage sites.

Park management

The park was managed until 1996 by the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Organization (EWCO) of the Ethiopian Ministry of the Environment, which still sets management guidelines today. Since 1997, the park has been administered by the Amhara Parks Development and Protection Authority of the Amharic regional government.

In 1978, to protect the park and the animals, the people living in the park were resettled and any use of natural raw materials (e.g. wood) was prohibited. In 1986, a detailed management plan was drawn up with the support of WWF , but it could not be implemented due to the civil war in which the park's infrastructure was destroyed. The central government's concern for wildlife and not for the park's residents led to significant resistance from the population and increased local opposition. The population and local communities were then allowed to participate in the planning and management decisions. In 1996 the park was put on the Red List of World Heritage in Danger, as the construction of an access road from Debark to Mekane Berhan and agricultural interventions had a negative impact on the habitat of the ibex and wolves. The previously undisturbed Erica - Hypericum forest now supplied a large part of the local firewood. The enrollment was not recognized by the national authorities despite lengthy discussions.

In 1997, following a previous meeting with stakeholders, the park management was transferred from the central to the regional authorities. A representative of the regional government promised an increase in the budget and park staff, as well as talks with the local population, a committee for park rehabilitation, cooperation with donors, relocation of the road through the park, the voluntary relocation of four villages to the edge of the Parks and the expansion of two neighboring game reserves. The suggestions were accepted by the local actors and a management plan was drawn up based on this. In 2007, 165 households in the village of Arkwasiye voluntarily withdrew from a critical wildlife corridor and received compensation. Over two-thirds of the $ 1,175 cost per household was borne by the regional government, with the remainder being borne by foreign donors.

In 2003, these measures resulted in an increase in the ibex population. By 2006, 100 boundary stones had been erected, which enclose the two game reserves Mesareriya in the east and Lemalino in the west with a total area of ​​23,000 hectares and which separate a large population of ibex and wolves from several villages in the park. Another 300 border markings were set up for the extension of the park to the mountains Silki Yared and Kiddis Yared in the northeast, but the extension with a connecting corridor to Ras Daschän in the south remained unmarked. A second road from Bwahit to Dilybza was laid through the wilderness area. A new road from Debark to Mekeneberhan, which bypasses the park, was planned but not yet financed.

In 2009 a comprehensive ten-year plan sponsored by the World Heritage Fund was drawn up. Nevertheless, the population and livestock density has hardly decreased and overgrazing continues unchecked. According to the UNEP-WCMC , ten-year strategy and three-year action plans are necessary to reduce grazing pressure and promote alternative livelihoods for the people in and around the park in order to limit their impact on its resources and to relieve the land for renaturation . However, these will require substantial resources that are not yet available.

A veterinary clinic was set up in the buffer zone to prevent the transmission of cattle diseases to wild animals. The Austrian Development Cooperation financed a six-year sustainable resource program that provided for the introduction of new crops, nurseries , beehives , irrigation projects and cattle breeding .

Registration as world natural heritage

Simien National Park
UNESCO world heritage UNESCO World Heritage Emblem
Simien Mountains National Park 13.jpg
National territory: EthiopiaEthiopia Ethiopia
Type: nature
Criteria : (vii) (x)
Surface: 13,600 ha
Reference No .: 9
UNESCO region : Africa
History of enrollment
Enrollment: 1978  ( session 2 )
Red list : 1996-2017

The national park, which was designated in 1969, was entered on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1978 as the first World Heritage Site in Ethiopia based on a resolution of the second meeting of the World Heritage Committee . At the meeting, the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were also included as the country's first World Heritage Site.

The world heritage site covers an area of ​​13,600 hectares.

The reason for the entry states, among other things:

The Simien National Park in northern Ethiopia is a spectacular landscape where, over the course of millions of years, severe erosion has created rugged mountain peaks, deep valleys and striking steep slopes of around 1500 m. The park is of global importance for the conservation of biodiversity as it is home to threatened species worldwide, including the emblematic Ethiopian ibex, a wild mountain goat found nowhere else in the world, the Gelada baboon and the Ethiopian wolf.

The entry was made on the basis of criteria (vii) and (x).

(vii): The spectacular landscape of the natural property is part of the Simien mountain range, which is located on the northern edge of the Ethiopian highlands and which includes the highest point of Ethiopia, Ras Daschän. Over millions of years of erosion, steep cliffs and deep gorges of extraordinary natural beauty have formed from the hilly plateau of the Simien Mountains. Some cliffs reach a height of 1500 m and the northern rock face extends for about 35 km. The mountains are bordered by deep valleys in the north, east and south and offer sweeping views over the rugged gorge and the lower plains. The spectacular backdrop of the Simien Mountains is seen as rivaling the Grand Canyon in Colorado .

(x): The natural resource is of global importance for the preservation of biodiversity. It is part of the Afro-Alpine Plant Diversity Center and the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot and is home to a number of globally threatened species. The park's cliffs are the main habitat of the endangered Ethiopian Ibex (Capra walie), a wild mountain goat that is endemic to the Simien Mountains. Other key species are the endangered Ethiopian wolf (or Simien fox, Canis simensis), which is considered the rarest canid species in the world, and the Gelada baboon (Theropithecus gelada). Both are endemic to the Ethiopian highlands and rely on Afroalpine meadows and heather areas. Other large mammal species are the anubis baboon, the robed baboon, the cliff diver, and the golden jackal. The park is also an important bird sanctuary that belongs to the larger endemic bird sanctuary "Central Ethiopian Highlands". In total, there are over 20 large mammal species and over 130 bird species in the park. The mountains are home to 5 small mammal species and 16 bird species endemic to Eritrea and / or Ethiopia, as well as a significant population of the rare lammergeyer, a spectacular species of vulture. The abundance of species and habitats in the park is the result of its great diversity in altitude, topography and climate, which has shaped its afromontane and afroalpine ecosystems.

From 1996 the national park was on the Red List of Endangered World Heritage , as the extremely small population of the Ethiopian Ibex continued to decline and more and more people settled in the area of ​​the park. The national park administration assures that this development has meanwhile been reversed and that a strategy for an alternative way of earning a living for the local population is being worked on. In 2017 the World Heritage Committee decided to remove the national park from the Red List.

Web links

Commons : Simien National Park  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l data sheet for the national park. (PDF; 129 kB) UNEP-WCMC , May 2011, accessed on June 21, 2018 (English).
  2. ↑ Hans Hürni: Soil erosion in Semien-Ethiopia . In: Geographica Helvetica. No. 4, 1975, pp. 157-168.
  3. ↑ a b Chris Magin: Ethiopian Montane Grasslands and Woodlands . WWF Wild World report. 2001.
  4. ↑ a b c Guy Debonnet, Lota Melamari, Bastian Bomhard: Reactive Monitoring Mission to Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. WHC / IUCN Mission Report, UNESCO, Paris & IUCN, Switzerland 2006, p. 8.
  5. ^ A b c Bernhard Nievergelt, Tatjana Good, René Güttinger: A survey of the flora and fauna of the Simen Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. (Special edition of Walia: journal of the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society. ), Addis Ababa 1998.
  6. ↑ a b Teshome Ashine: What the World Heritage Convention has meant to Ethiopia. In: J. McNeely, K. Miller (Eds.): National Parks, Conservation, and Development. The Role of Protected Areas in Sustaining Society. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC 1984.
  7. ^ Jesse C. Hillman, Hans Hürni, Bernhard Nievergelt: Ethiopia. In: David M. Shackleton (Ed.): Wild Sheep and Goats and their Relatives. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Caprinae. . IUCN, Gland / Cambridge 1997, ISBN 2-8317-0353-0 , pp. 27-30.
  8. ↑ Hans Hürni, Sarah-Lan Boots: Report on a mission to the Simen Mountains National Park World Heritage Site, Ethiopia. University of Bern 2003.
  9. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Committee: Report on the 30th Session of the Committee. Paris 2006.
  10. ^ AJ Stattersfield et al .: Endemic bird areas of the world: priorities for biodiversity conservation. (= BirdLife Conservation Series 7) BirdLife International, Cambridge 1998, ISBN 0-946888-33-7 .
  11. ↑ Lincoln DC Fishpool, Michael I. Evans (Ed.): Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation. (= BirdLife Conservation Series 11) Pisces Publications and Birdlife International, Newbury / Cambridge 2001, ISBN 187435720X .
  12. ↑ Jesse C. Hillman: Ethiopia: Compendium of Wildlife Conservation Information. Vol. 1, New York 1993.
  13. ↑ Bernhard Nievergelt: Field Study on the Flora and Fauna of the Simen Mountains, January 1996: A Summarized Report. Universities of Zurich, East Anglia, Vienna and Addis Abeba with the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Organization and the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society.
  14. ↑ UNESCO: Consultants' Report Including Agreed Minutes of the Bahrdar Workshop. Report of the Technical Mission to Ethiopia on Simien Mountains National Park and World Heritage Site, October 1996. p. 44.
  15. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Committee: Report on the 25th Session of the Committee. Paris 2002.
  16. ↑ Tiru Berihun Tessema, Michael Jungmeier, Michael Huber: The relocation of the village of Arkwasiye in the Simien Mountain National Park in Ethiopia: an intervention towards sustainable development ?. In: eco.mont Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research . tape 4 , December 2012, p. 13-20 , doi : 10.1553 / eco.mont-4-2s13 .
  17. ↑ a b UNESCO World Heritage Committee: Report on the 34th Session of the Committee. Paris 2010.
  18. ^ David Martin: Ecotourism in Ethiopia. In: Le Monde Diplomatique , August 2008.
  19. ↑ Decision - 2 COM VIII.38. UNESCO World Heritage Center, 1978, accessed June 21, 2018 .
  20. ↑ a b c Entry on the website of the UNESCO World Heritage Center ( English and French ).
  21. ↑ Ethiopian World Heritage site, Simien National Park no longer in danger , Communication from the World Heritage Committee of July 4, 2017.