GA ISIG Study Tour 2013 (Ethiopia) 7. The Bale Mountains National Park. Biodiversity under threat.

Summary Curriculum Links-A level National Parks The Bale Mountains are found in the Oromia Region of south east The impact of development Ethiopia, south of the Awash River. The Bale Mountains National Park is Human disruption of physical approximately 2,200 square kilometres in area and the tenth largest of environments the country’s 20 National Parks. It was designated a National Park in Environmental problems 1962 and is the 4th oldest. In the centre of the park lies the high level Impacts of development on the Afro-alpine Sanetti Plateau ranging in altitude from 2,800m in the north environment and 4,377m to the south. Key Words The Sanetti Plateau is the largest remaining alpine habitat in Africa and is Alpine habitats home to the rare Ethiopian wolf which hunts for its rodent prey across Food chains the Sanetti heights. Many rodents, such as giant mole rats and Blix grass Raptors rats are endemic and meet the needs also of plateau raptors such as Biodiversity Golden Eagles, Lammergeiers and many other species of birds. The Biome plateau is also home to many significant plant species, such as the Conservation flowering giant lobelia. Species extinction The Red Book The Bale Mountains National Park was established in an attempt at preserving its unique habitats. It is, however, a relatively small area. The Questions to consider habitats that surround it, particularly the Afro-montane grasslands, are under considerable threat. This is primarily the result of incursions into 1. What are the main reasons for the the area by farmers wishing to extend the area of their holdings. As well decline in numbers of Ethiopian wolves as an increase in the cultivation of barley, grazing has increased at high in the Bale Mountains? altitudes and is destroying these fragile ecosystems. 2. Should endangered species such as The Bale Mountains both inside and outside the National Park provide an the Ethiopian wolf be preserved and, if excellent example of a landscape under threat. Without government so, why? intervention, perhaps by expanding the area of the park, species such as the Ethiopian Wolf are doomed to extinction. 3. Why do species such as the Giant Lobelia only occur at certain altitudes?

4. Using the data in Table 1, attempt to predict the major land uses likely to exist in the Bale Mountains in 2020.

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Figure 1. Giant lobelia form a distinct ecosystem on the Sanetti Plateau in the Bale National Park [August 2013] ©Dr Kevin Cook The lichen cover is evidence of excellent clean air in the area. Background information provided by Study Tour participant Kevin Cook

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The Bale Mountains

The Bale Mountains of Ethiopia are of global conservation significance. They are home to the largest population of the endangered endemic Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) and of Mountain Nyala. The mountains are also home to a number of unique plants, such as Giant Lobelias and Senecio species. In addition, the mountains are important reservoirs of genetic diversity. Until the early 1960s, the Bale Mountains area was sparsely populated and population pressure in the area was low.

In 1962 the Bale Mountain National Park (BMNP) (Figure 2) was established covering a large portion of the massif. It comprises an area 2,200 km2 of afro-alpine habitat and includes part of the afro-montane rainforests. The establishment of this park was targeted at protecting the afro-alpine habitat and its endemic mammalian fauna. Today the BMNP is listed as one of the UNESCO 200 worldwide bio-regions and represents a potential world heritage site.

Human activities are one of the primary drivers of terrestrial biodiversity change and loss today. This usually results in habitat loss and fragmentation and local extinctions. It facilitates invasion by alien species, leads to a reduction in soil infiltration rates and the variability of soil carbon stock and the emission of other greenhouse gases. In short, Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) are rapidly transforming many pristine natural habitats beyond their natural range of variability. The recent rate of LULCC is extraordinarily high in countries such as Ethiopia.

A hotspot of biodiversity loss Change within biological communities is nothing new. What is different is the rate of change and it is clear that it is taking place at unprecedented rates as the effects of global climate change increase. Understanding the effects of such change on biodiversity is crucial if we are to reduce biodiversity loss and mass species extinction. It is in remote tropical mountain ecosystems such as the Bale Mountains that precise knowledge of such processes is sorely lacking and biodiversity loss is greatest. Research by Kidane et al (2012) has tracked the changes in land use cover from 1973 to 2008 using satellite imagery (see Table 1 for details). The analysis shows that this area is changing from a natural to a more cultural landscape. The area being cultivated by farmers has increased dramatically mainly at the expense of the grasslands. Forest cover has remained much the same as in 1973.Intensified human activities such as deforestation, Figure 2. The Bale National Park agriculture and the expansion of roads and other forms of infrastructure have created a hotspot of biodiversity loss in Source: Kidane (2012) these mountains. The authors surmise that, taking regional climate warming predictions and modified precipitation regimes into consideration, the loss of habitats will increase resulting in rising pressures on the largely endemic biota

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Table 1 Changes in major land uses 1979 – 2008 Bale National Park 1973 2008 Agricultural fields 136km2 (1.7%) 735km2 (9.3%) Afromontane grasslands 1638 km2 (19.3%) 698km2 (8.8%) Ericaceous forest 1194 km2 (15.0%) 984km2 (12.4%) Isolated Erica shrubs 545km2 (6.9%) 441km2 (5.6%) Afroalpine dwarf shrubs 544km2 (6.8%) 124km2 (1.6%) Afromontane rainforest 2545km2 (32.0%) 2528km2 (31.8%)

The reasons for this marked change in land use over the past four decades are not difficult to find. The Bale Mountains are currently experiencing higher population densities than ever recorded and population growth in the area remains a serious problem. In the 10 years between 1994-5 and 2005-6, the population grew from 1.2 million to 1.7 million, an increase of 42% or around 4% per annum. This compares with an increase of 2.9% per annum in the Oromia region as a whole. The area has been affected by new settlement growth as a result of the post-drought resettlement and villagisation programmes of the 1980s and 1990s that led to the movement of people from the northern regions of the country. (See Topic 11 on Villagisation in Ethiopia). Accompanying this population growth has been encroachment by agricultural practices onto ever higher altitudes (see Figure 3). These have included the expansion of the barley growing area, the increased use of mechanised farming and the growth of animal husbandry practices. Improved veterinary services have encouraged farmers to extend their herd sizes and to use Figure 3. Changes in biomes with altitude and the more and more ecosystem areas not able to cope with the effects of agricultural expansion. The peaks increased pressures. Areas that were once used as a part of a represent the Ethiopian mountains with the Rift transhumance system of grazing are now being used all the Valley shown diagrammatically. Source: Kidane year round. This is leading to the uprooting of grasses and 2012 herbs leading to the extinction of endemic and other species. Deforestation is another driver of this species decline. Fuelwood for the rapidly growing lower altitude towns and villages is increasingly being taken from the higher altitude forests. Overall forest cover seems to have changed little since 1973 and this can be explained by the expansion of eucalyptus and cedar plantations within the original upper- montane forest areas. Such plantations are seen as a source of future income. On our visit to the country, the extensive nature of these plantations was clearly evident in areas such as the highlands around Addis Ababa. A final anthropogenic cause of the land use changes is fire. Kidane’s research found evidence of fires. They are lit deliberately by farmers to improve grasses for grazing and to clear hyena hiding places. The Bale Mountains area has been transformed over the last 40 years as a result of increasing population pressures. Its endemic plants and animals continue to be threatened. The speed of the changes clearly shows the need for immediate action if its unique biodiversity is to be preserved.

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Species under threat – the Ethiopian Wolf The Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) provides an excellent example of a species under threat. Its home area is restricted to seven isolated mountain enclaves in the highlands of Ethiopia. The Afro-alpine range that forms its habitat is shrinking as a result of the population pressures mentioned above and it is estimated that there are no more than 440 adults remaining in the country. The largest population lives in the Bale Mountains where the species is being intensively studied. Population size varies considerably as a result of recurring infectious diseases such as rabies and canine distemper. Since 2008, the population has declined by around 30% from Figure 4. An Ethiopian wolf searching for approximately 300 to an estimated 210 adults. The Red Book of rodents in the Erica shrubs. ©Kevin Cook endangered species suggests these numbers are approaching critical levels and sustained conservation interventions are becoming increasingly necessary if the species is to be preserved. International organisations, such as Oxford University, are playing a key role in many of these efforts. The continuous loss of habitats following the expansion of high-altitude subsistence agriculture represent a major threat to the specie’s continued existence. 60% of land above 3200 metres has been converted into farmland and wolf populations living below 3700 metres are vulnerable to further habitat loss. References Bale Mountains National Park. Official Site. http://balemountains.org/ Burrard-Lucas,W. and Jackrel, R. (2017) The Ethiopian Wolf Project http://www.ethiopianwolfproject.com/about/project/

IUCN Red List of threatened species. Canis simensis (Ethiopian Wolf) http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/3748/0

Kidane, Y et al. (2012) Vegetation dynamics, and land use and land cover change in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 184(12) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221778724_Vegetation_dynamics_and_land_use_and_land_cover_chan ge_in_the_Bale_Mountains_Ethiopia

UNESCO Bale Mountains National Park. http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5315 Wikipedia (2-17) The Bale Mountains. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bale_Mountains_National_Park

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