Simiens_Mountains_National_Park

This paper is assessing the ecological property for the Simien Mountains National Park in Ethiopia. They have an ecological uniqueness of plants and animal life there. This paper describes the diversity of life forms that are found in that area and the biological interrelationships among those life forms there. There are human intrusions that threaten the Simien Mountains National Park but there is some protection that exists to safeguard and preserve that area. There have been efforts made to further preserve that area. In this paper will be suggestions of things that people can do to preserve the diversity of that area and what could happen if these human intrusions went unchecked. Simien Mountains National Park was one of the first sites to be noticed on the World Heritage List back in 1978. Simien National Park had huge erosion on the Ethiopian plateau. This erosion has created a beautiful landscape. It has deep valleys, jagged mountain peaks, and precipices sheer for nearly 1,500 meters. They have very rare gelada baboon, Ethiopian wolfs, and a Walia ibex which is a goat that is only found in Ethiopia. This spectacular landscape has become threatened by human intrusions. There has been a large decline in the amount of Walia ibex there. This is due to grazing, human settlement, road construction, and agriculture. There is about five hundred Walia ibex now but the Ethiopian wolfs are very rare. There are around 21 mammals that have been recorded at Simien Mountains National park. This includes the seven that are endemic species. The park had been reduced to nearly 250 animals before designation back in 1968, and another 50 that was not in the park but revived between 1985 and 1991 (Copeland, 2006). After 1982 this number became far less down to an estimated 400 animals by 1989 and even down to 200 in 1996 due to poaching that drove the animals far east. This number eventually increased once again in 2005 after two reserves incorporated and there were nearly 623 animals there. The Ethiopian wolf is by far the rarest animal there but other mammals include hamadryas baboon, black and white vervet, spotted hyenas, leopards, golden jackal, wild cats, etc. There are also several large herbivores such as the bush pig, bushbuck, bush duiker, and klipspringer. This park also has one of the world’s most endemic bird areas. There has been 137 bird species recorded there (Copeland, 2006). Sixteen of these birds are endemic to Ethiopia. Some of the birds found there include the spot billed plover, black-winged lovebirds, forest oriole, blockheaded siskin, Abyssinian catbird, and thick-billed ravens. There are 25 raptor species also found there in which four are vultures and four are species of eagle. Since the Simien Mountains are a part of the Afro-alpine Centre of Plant Diversity they have high levels of unquantified endemism because of past isolation. This is the result of the recent post volcanic glacial history. The animals that live in the Simien Mountains live in four different belts. The rich vegetation that grown there is relative to the altitude. Animals that live in two of the biomes adapt to high altitude conditions, and much specification. This area which is the grasslands has been intruded though by humans by heavy overgrazing and this has eroded and degraded that area. This means that this area is now unproductive. Vegetation that is found in this area consist of coarse tussock grass, small shrub thickets, cliff hanging herbs, scattered Otostegia, and creepers Clematis Simensis. Few trees remain in this area due to it being cleared for growing cereals and now there is no regeneration. The plants that you will see consist of torch lily, the African rose, yellow primrose, tree heather, etc. This is why there are not as many animals that live here because this area has been intruded by humans and has not been completely preserved. There used to be around 2,500 Amhara people that lived in the Simien Mountains National Park. They were very poor which is due to the agriculture there. Over half of the park was said to have been grazed or farmed. In 1978 the population was reduced because nearly 1,800 were forced relocation to the lower slopes of the northern escarpment. This was very unpopular; this caused civil unrest back in the 80’s and in 1991. They returned to their villages and expanded a refugee camp. This added to the problem which was under cultivation. There were eight communities which had land within the boundaries that cut through most of the villages. They said that grazing could not be prohibited as long as there were local residents that lived within the park. The population has been growing about 2% each year and now there are around 30,000 people in 30 different villages around the park but only two within it. There are a ton of poor farmers, woodcutters, herders, and others so the number of livestock is also increasing with population. There is no more settlement allowed in the Simien National Park and grazing has been restricted but for this to actually be completely stopped may take years. They are doing these things to help preserve the park. There has been some scientific research and facilities conducted. Scientists have conducted research on the Walia ibex, the ecology of gelada baboon, and habitat conservation. They have conducted in depth studies of the fauna and flora. They conducted this research by monitoring the agricultural encroachment, regional management, and human population that is under way. It is very important that Simien National Park be preserved because it is so spectacular. Its landscape was created to protect an area in North Ethiopia. Now this area is under threat, it is the refuge for threatened Walia ibex. These mountains are very important to the gelada baboons and the Simien wolves. They depend on these mountains to shelter them and keep them from intruders. The mountains are important for the Tekeze River that is used for irrigation. This park has been managed by the Amhara Parks Development and Protection Authority of the Amharan National Regional State government since 1997. They had prepared plans to help preserve the park but they were never implemented owing to civil war in which case the parks infrastructure was destroyed. Finally from 1978 to 1986 the catchment and wildlife were protected by evicting the people (Kotler, 2007). They prohibited any type of development or use of any of the parks resources. They excluded the local communities from management and planning decisions. The park then was placed on the World Heritage List in Danger in 1996 because of the effects from the construction due to the access road from Debark to Mekane. There was a major affect on the agriculture and on the wolf, the ibex habitat, and the forest. When it comes to preserving our country it is a very serious matter. Individuals can take it upon themselves to help preserve their community by not destroying the land. We need each and everything that is on this planet. We all need each other in one way or another. If animals start becoming extinct then this affects the whole ecosystem. If the waters are polluted and we do not have water to drink and to cook with then we all will be in very big trouble. We all need to do our part when it comes to protecting our planet. When it comes to Simien National Park it is great that they have management there that have prohibited grazing and prohibited humans from living inside of the park. This will help out tremendously because the humans are in dangering those species such as the wolf and the goat that will become extinct if they did not stop it very soon. If these people continue to do these things that are prohibited they should be fined and put into jail. They need to know that this is a very serious matter that needs to be taken seriously. If these intrusions go unchecked things such as the wolf and the goat will become extinct. As mentioned earlier that every species was put on this earth for a reason. We all need each other in some way or another so we need to do everything possible to keep these species alive. This is a very poor country as it is so let’s do our part to keep it as beautiful as we can for as long as we can.