Nyika National Park

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Nyika National Park
Typical landscape of the central plateau in Nyika National Park
Typical landscape of the central plateau in Nyika National Park
Nyika National Park (Malawi)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
Coordinates: 10 ° 33 ′ 0 ″  S , 33 ° 50 ′ 0 ″  E
Location: Northern region , Malawi
Next city: Rumphi
Surface: 3,214 km
Founding: 1965
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The Nyika National Park (Engl. Nyika National Park ) is one of the few transnational national parks in Africa. With a size of over 3,200 km² it connects Malawi with the neighboring country Zambia in the Northern Region . The national park was founded in Malawi in 1965 under the name Malawi National Park and is now the largest of five national parks in the country.

There are different interpretations of the meaning of the name Nyika . Derived from the name Tanganyika , "uninhabited land" or "wilderness" is one way of interpreting it, "bushland" or "the place of the short grass", as the Phoka and the Tumbuka are said to have called the land, another.

geography

Kaulime Lake in Nyika National Park

The Nyika National Park extends over the entire Nyika Plateau and its peripheral areas in northern Malawi and eastern Zambia . The park, which can be found 460 km by road north of Lilongwe , is geologically bounded by North Rukuru to the northwest and north , by the coastal strip of Lake Malawi to the northeast, by the valley of South Rukuru to the south, by the Vwaza Marsh to the southeast and to the west Zambian side far from the Luwumbu valley .

The national park has a total area of ​​3,214 km², of which 3,134 km² are on the Malawian side and 80 km² on the Zambian side. Parts of the districts of Chitipa , Karonga and Rumphi in the Northern Region of Malawi and Lundazi in the Eastern Province of Zambia belong to the catchment area of ​​the park.

The altitude of the national park is between 1,800 and 2,600 m above sea level, while the outside areas drop to 600 meters. The highest point of the plateau in the park is Nganda Hill at 2,607 m in the north . The highest elevation in the southern part is the Kasaramba in the southeast, at 2,460 m .

The only natural lake in the national park is Kaulime Lake . It is located about 8 km west of Chelinda. Three other bodies of water were created south of Chelinda by building dams.

history

The history of Nyika National Park goes back to the 1930s when parts of the Nyika Plateau were placed under protection because of a fragmented cypress forest consisting of juniper trees . In the 1940s and 1950s, some areas of the plateau on the Zambian and Malawian sides were placed under hunting control. This at least protected the wild animals from poaching. At that time, Malawi was still a British colony as Nyassaland . After independence in July 1964 and the failure of a project to plant a pine plantation on the Nyika Plateau by the Colonial Development Corporation, the Malawi National Park was established by ordinance on January 1, 1965 by Hastings Kamuzu Banda , the country's first Prime Minister .

Forest in the high areas

The protected area of ​​94,000  hectares extended over parts of the higher Nyika plateau. In 1969 the name of the national park was changed to Nyika National Park . On February 1, 1971, the park was established with 80 km² on the Zambian side. The extension of the national park beyond the entire Nyika plateau took place on the Malawian side in June 1978, with which the park now covered an area of ​​3,134 km².

In 1983, the Malawian government applied for Nyika National Park to be placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List . A year later, the World Heritage Committee rejected the application. Another application in April 2005 was rejected at the committee meeting the following year. A biodiversity worth protecting was confirmed to Nyika National Park and the park was included in IUCN Category  II, but the differences between the specified standards of the IUCN and the possibilities of the Malawian government to achieve and adhere to these standards for the national park were still too great . The number of endemic plants, the diversity of habitats and the biodiversity of flora and fauna were also not comparable with other African national parks included in the World Heritage List .

climate

Climatically, the Nyika National Park with its altitude is assigned to the Uluguru - Mulanje afromontane zone . The temperatures are moderate with just under zero in winter and up to 21 ° C in the summer months for Central African conditions. The annual mean values ​​of precipitation are between 800 and 1,600 mm, depending on the altitude.

An investigation into how the national park could be climatically affected by the expected global warming came to the conclusion that the temperature could rise by 3 ° C by 2100. Under the particular landscape conditions, this would result in an increase in precipitation of 33%. Changes in the ecosystem are expected, but no serious damage is currently assumed.

Flora and fauna

plants

Miombo forest in Nyika National Park

The highlands of the Nyika National Park mainly consist of a hilly grassy landscape, which is interspersed with numerous herbaceous plants . Individual small forest areas alternate the image of the landscape. The sloping slopes of the plateau are preferably overgrown with miombo ( Brachystegia ), a tree typical of the grasslands and savannahs of Africa. In relation to the entire park, the miombo landscape covers almost 60% and the grassland about 37% of the total area. There are also trees that are so important for the region as Julbernardia globiflora , Isoberlinia angolensis and Monotes africanus .

The grasslands themselves are mostly made up of grasses such as Loudetia simplex and Andropogon schirensis . Between the grasses so far 33 different endemic were flowering plants found, of which four are for the family of orchids . The species diversity of orchids was given as 200. So far , the botanists have documented a total of 1,225 different plant species that are located within the boundaries of the park.

The disturbed ecosystem in the national park but by of Europeans entrained Bracken ( Pteridium aquilinum ), which can spread remains unchecked. The fern grows back quickly, especially after a fire and in turn prevents other plants from growing back. The Scots pine , which in the English-speaking Scots Pine is known, is classified as a non-resident, but can be kept under control so far. The pines were planted in the central highlands of the Nyika plateau in the 1950s and 1960s and, with their accumulation on an area of ​​around 480 hectares at an altitude of 2,000 m, now represent a considerable forest area.

Mammals

There is only imprecise information about the population of wild animals. The 95 different mammals that should live in the national park include the lion, the leopard ( Panthera pardus ), the spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta ), the striped jackal ( Canis adustus ), the white-throated monkey ( Cercopithecus albogularis ), the Ethiopian monkey ( Cercopithecus) ), the Steppenzebra ( Equus quagga ), the phacochoerus ( phacochoerus aethiopicus ), the bulk Riedbock ( Redunca arundinum ), the bush Bock ( Tragelaphus scriptus ), the greater kudu ( Tragelaphus strepsiceros ), the Eland ( taurotragus oryx ) which Pferdeantilope ( Hippotragus equinus ), the crown Ducker ( Sylvicapra grimmia ), the red duiker ( Cephalophus natalensis ), the Lichtenstein antelope ( Alcelaphus lichtensteinii ), the klipspringer ( oreotragus oreotragus ) and the puku ( Kobus vardoni ). There are also said to be around 45  elephants in the national park. However, the total number of animals is constantly falling. For example, a survey in 2005 found a decrease in eland and large reed bucks of 20 to 30% compared to 1984. Only the number of zebras seems to remain constant.

Birds, reptiles and insects

Furthermore, housing the area over 426 species of birds, among which, for example, the Rotflügelfrankolin (Francolinus levaillantii), the wattled crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) and the Stanley Bustard (Neotis denhami), a species of Trappen , located. Also to be found is the Churring Cisticola (Cisticola njombe), which comes from the genus of the Cistensänger .

In addition to 47 different reptiles , 34 amphibian species and over 220 different butterfly species, there is also an unmanageable number of different insects in the refuge .

Conflicts of Interest

In 1978, when the catchment area of ​​Nyika National Park was enlarged by more than three times, around 5,000 people had to leave their traditional areas. They were forcibly relocated to areas that contained less fertile land and also had a higher risk of malaria .

A conflict between the protection interests of the national park and the interests of the population was inevitable. Illegal hunting, deforestation and agricultural cultivation, as well as bush and forest fires increased. In addition, the population in the areas around the park grew by between 2.8% and 3.5% per year, which meant that the agriculturally usable area in the peripheral zones became increasingly scarce.

For this reason, from October 1996 to March 2004 , the German Society for Technical Cooperation funded a project to develop the edge zone of the national park. The aim of the project was to increase soil fertility and agricultural production and to introduce sustainable cultivation methods and erosion control measures. The formation of community organizations and the establishment of schools as well as the creation of a local water supply and the establishment of health stations were on the program.

A small inquiry in the Bundestag in 2006 (printed matter 16/1225) revealed weaknesses in the planning of the project. As early as 2001, the work with regional and local sponsors was rated as only partially successful and the achievement of the project objective was rated as low. The project ended in 2004.

The affected population is now allowed to keep honey bees in the park and to improve their income situation with an annual harvest of around 8 tons of honey . Wild fruits and medicinal plants can now also be harvested under supervision .

An environmental association, the Malawi Wildlife Department , and a Conservation Trust are trying to get money into a community fund through the sale of the coveted roan antelope and safari programs, which will then be used to finance municipal facilities and at the same time try to improve the living conditions of the people in the peripheral areas of the Parkes to improve.

tourism

Around 2006, around 1,500 tourists visited Nyika National Park annually. That's as many as 20 years earlier. The options for tourists are limited. Arrivals of more than 100 km and only one lodge for the night on the Malawian side limit the number of travelers considerably. Hiking and game viewing are the classic tourist options in the national park. In addition, a small exhibition can be visited on the outskirts of the national park.

So tourism was not a problem for the national park back then, but poaching was. It was estimated that around 280 professional poachers shot between 400 and 500 antelopes annually. Some stocks had already declined 75% in the previous decade.

In June 2009, the Wilderness Wildlife Trust , an ecotourism company from South Africa , won the concession for the national park. The Chelinda Lodge was to be reopened and safari on horseback , for which the park was already known, was to be developed again.

See also

literature

  • John Burrows, Christopher Willis: Plants of the Nyika Plateau . South African National Biodiversity Institute , Pretoria 2005, ISBN 1-919976-08-6 .
  • Sosten Chiotha, Dennis Kayambazinthu: Potential Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) in Malawi. Report Prepared With Support from Eastern and Southern Africa Katoomba Network . International Katoomba Group, Washington DC 2009 ( katoombagroup.org [PDF; 475 kB ; accessed on March 7, 2010]).
  • World Heritage Nomination - IUCN Technical Evaluation. Nyika National Park (Malawi) - ID N ° 290 REV . In: IUCN (Ed.): Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. IUCN Evaluation of Nominations of Natural and Mixed Properties to the World Heritage List. Report to the World Heritage Committee, Thirtieth Session, Juliy 205 - Vilnius, Lithuania . WHC-06 / 30.COM / INF.8B2. Gland 2006, p. 83–89 ( online [PDF; 3.4 MB ; accessed on March 7, 2010]).
  • Einhard Schmidt-Kallert: Nyika Vwaza Conservation Project (Malawi). A conservation strategy for national parks in Africa . In: Geographical Rundschau . tape 51 , no. 5 , 1999, p. 280-285 .

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Nyika National Park. ( Memento from February 20, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) At unep-wcmc.org. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b Nyika National Park. At: nyika-vwaza-trust.org. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  3. ↑ a b c Plants of the Nyika Plateau. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 2005.
  4. ↑ Nina Challis, Ian Michler: Making the most of Africa's warm heart. ( Memento from December 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) At: africageographic.com. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  5. ↑ Chelinda Lodge. On: Jambo-Africa, com. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Report to the World Heritage Committee - Nyika National Park (Malawi) - ID N ° 290 Rev , IUCN , Gland, Switzerland, May 2006, pp. 83-89.
  7. ↑ a b THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS - Monday, September 1, 2003 On: UNEP-WCMC.org. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  8. ^ Protected Areas of the World Volume 3 Afrotropical
  9. ^ A b Protected Areas: Their Role and Future in Malawi's Land Budget. Inter-Agency Working Group on Protected Areas, Lilongwe, August 1997.
  10. ^ Ecologically Sensitive Sites in Africa. Volume 6 On: UNEP-WCMC.org. Retrieved December 18, 2009
  11. ↑ Malawi. On: FAO.org. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  12. ^ Environmental Aspects - Nature and Nurture 270. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Environmental Affairs Department, Lilongwe, Malawi, 2002. ISBN 99908-26-11-0 .
  13. ↑ Julbernardia globiflora ( Memento of February 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, accessed December 29, 2014.
  14. ↑ Vegetation ecology of tropical & subtropical climates. TU-Berlin, accessed on December 29, 2014.
  15. ↑ a b Sosten Chiotha, Dennis Kayambazinthu: Potential Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) in Malawi. Report Prepared With Support from Eastern and Southern Africa Katoomba Network, International Katoomba Group, Washington DC, 2009.
  16. ^ Population and Housing Census 2008 - Prelimenery Report. National Statistical Office, Zomba, Malawi, September 2008.
  17. ↑ fringe development Nyika National Park and Vwaza Game Reserve ( Memento of 12 May 2007 at the Internet Archive ) On: gtz.de. German Society for Technical Cooperation, accessed on December 20, 2009.
  18. ↑ Small inquiry: success control in technical cooperation. DIE LINKE parliamentary group, German Bundestag, 16th electoral period, printed matter 16/1392, May 8, 2006.
  19. ^ Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) in Africa. German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Eschborn, 2006.
  20. ↑ Wilderness Safaris secures tourism concession for Nyika National Park. In: Nyasa Times. June 22, 2009, archived from the original on June 26, 2009 ; accessed on December 29, 2014 .