© Tim Mos Tim © s African Heartland News May - August 2007 A NEWSLETTER FOR PARTNERS OF THE AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION IN THIS ISSUE Improving Wildlife Management in Mozambique During the 1970s and 1980s, Mozambique Mozambique and covers 7000 km2. It is experienced years of long civil war. an important hydrological system with Millions of people were either displaced seasonally flooded and dry grasslands, or killed during this conflict. The war numerous assemblages of large herbivores, also had immense impact on the natural aquatic species such as rare killifish and resources in the country. As a result, lungfish, the endangered wattled crane, and wildlife was decimated in most parts of hosts of migratory birds. It was established the country as protected area in 1973 and for many years, systems collapsed. Since the © James Weis Banhine was a ‘paper park’. war ended, the government AWF's first priority was to PROTECTING THE LOMAKO FOREST of Mozambique has been reestablish management Creating a safe haven for bonobos. working hard in partnership systems to ensure the park with various partners including was functional as an anchor in the African Wildlife Foundation the landscape for conservation (AWF) to reconstruct wildlife and tourism. Banhine has m a n a g e m e n t s y s t e m s been included in the Greater to conserve wildlife and Limpopo Transfrontier Area contribute to national economic because of its potential to development through tourism. provide expanded habitat Because of the extensive and other linkages for wildlife disruptions caused by the war, from the Greater Limpopo the needs within conservation Transfrontier Park. are numerous. This calls for A NEW PRESIDENT FOR AWF partners to prioritize and focus their support Understanding the Biodiversity through An interview with AWF's newly appointed president. to specific areas in order to incrementally Surveys achieve meaningful conservation impact. The first step for AWF was to gain greater AWF formed its partnership with the understanding of the biodiversity of the park government to concentrate its conservation together with its infrastructural challenges efforts in the Limpopo Heartland. This by conducting extensive surveys. In partnership was then formalized through October 2004, AWF conducted aerial two Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) surveys for terrestrial species using block with the Mozambique Ministry of Tourism sample counts in all but one area of the (MITUR). The first MOU was signed in park where there is a woodland known for October 2004. Under this MOU, AWF would its low carrying capacity of large mammals. support the reestablishment of Banhine Survey results showed that the park National Park and support the training of supports healthy populations of ostrich, AWF AND PARTNERS AT WORK wildlife managers in the country. These Anthrax outbreak in the Samburu kudu, impala, reedbuck, duiker, steenbok, areas of focus were selected because AWF Heartland. porcupine, warthog and the increasingly has extensive experience supporting parks rare oribi. The team noted that the species in Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana and Uganda distribution patterns have changed because to become more effective in managing their grasslands and wetlands which were once resources. dominated by large herbivores are now dominated by medium and small ungulates. Support to Banhine National Park Various species which historically existed Banhine National Park lies in southwest in the park such as giraffe, buffalo, sable, www.awf.org continued on page 6 www.awf.org African Heartland News page 2 SUPPORTING POLICY INITIATIVES: Management Framework for Shared Elephant Population Developed The southern Africa region has an estimated the protected and community areas in the three elephant (Loxodonta Africana) population countries creating conflict with people as well of 400,000. This population is growing at as damaging the environment. This elephant AWF SENIOR STAFF an average annual p o p u l a t i o n i s © Billy Dodson Patrick Bergin, Ph.D. growth rate of 5% managed in an Chief Executive Officer United States and is expected u n c o o r d i n a t e d to reach 500,000 m a n n e r u s i n g Helen Gichohi, Ph.D. President by 2020. Most of different policies Kenya these elephants and management Giles Davies utilize habitat across regimes across the Director, Conservation Enterprise several countries. three countries. Kenya G i v e n t h a t t h e If this population Jef Dupain r e g i o n h a s a n is to be effectively Heartland Director, Maringa-Lopori Wamba estimated carrying managed, joint Landscape capacity of 180,000 management of Democratic Republic of Congo e l e p h a n t s , i t i s the elephants is Joanna Elliott highly overstocked. required. AWF Vice President for Technical Design, This has resulted in has been working United Kingdom widespread conflicts with the three Steven Kiruswa, Ph.D. with people through protected area Heartland Director, Maasai crop and property a u t h o r i t i e s o f Steppe Heartland Tanzania destruction where population increase has Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to develop driven people into elephant habitat. It has and formalize a framework for the shared Jimmiel Mandima Heartland Director, Zambezi also resulted in extensive habitat destruction management of the elephants. Heartland, Zambia by elephants threatening the viability of other Simon Munthali, Ph.D. species of wildlife as well as the integrity Before AWF started working with the countries, Regional Director, Southern of various protected areas. Today, elephant each already had an elephant management Africa South Africa management in the region is one of the plan and policy in place or under development. greatest conservation challenges because the Zimbabwe already had an elephant management Philip Muruthi, Ph.D. Director of Conservation Science region lacks a regional elephant management plan and policy plan; Zambia had recently Kenya strategy. adopted a national policy and was in the Paul Ole Ntiati process of developing a management plan; Heartland Director, In 2004, the process of developing a regional and Mozambique had a national strategy for Kilimanjaro Heartland Kenya management strategy began in the region as elephant management. However, all the parties an initiative of the South African Development recognized that their management plans and Eugène Rutagarama Heartland Director, Community (SADC). This was driven by three policies did not address the transboundary Virunga Heartland major issues. First, the management challenges context of the elephant population. They also Elodie A. Sampéré stated above needed to be addressed because recognized that these plans and policies were Director, Program of their impacts. Second, there were concerns conflicting in many cases and did not further Communications Kenya arising from reports that there were proposals coordinated elephant management. to move all elephant populations to Appendix Nesbert Samu Heartland Director, I of the Convention of Trade in Endangered Over the past two years, AWF has facilitated Kazungula Heartland Species whose stringent management options interaction among technical staff from the Zambia would further increase populations and increase protected area authorities of the three Fiesta Warinwa threats to the environment and people. countries resulting in a shared framework for Heartland Director, Samburu Heartland Third, there was a general move towards the management of elephants in the Zambezi Kenya transboundary natural resource management Heartland. This framework is already serving in southern Africa. The process is being as the guide for elephant management in the handled both at national level and subregion Heartland. Within the shared policy framework, level especially where certain countries share existing national policies, management and African Heartland News transboundary elephant populations. In one action plans from the three countries have is published three times a year. such landscape, the Zambezi Heartland, a been harmonized and coordinated. Lessons DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS transboundary landscape that encompasses have also been incorporated from Botswana’s Elodie Sampéré parts of Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, elephant management approach. The shared PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AWF has been supporting this process among policy framework aims to “facilitate coordinated Daudi Sumba protected area authorities. management of a viable shared elephant © 2007 African Wildlife Foundation population(s) in the Zambezi landscape while P.O. Box 48177, 0100 Nairobi Kenya The Zambezi Heartland is home to more than ensuring the conservation of biodiversity, Tel: +254 20 2710367 30,000 African elephants which move between sustainable utilization and development.” Fax: +254 20 2710372 [email protected] continued on page 9 www.awf.org African Heartland News page 3 SPECIES CONSERVATION: AWF and Partners Control an Anthrax Outbreak in Samburu Heartland During the dry season of September 2006, the local community and livestock owners. the AWF Samburu Heartland team in northern Kenya encountered carcasses of 15 Grevy’s Out of the 50,000 animals targeted for zebras (Equus grevyi), several donkeys, cattle vaccination in Isiolo and Samburu districts, and sheep in the Wamba community area. This 49,841 were actually vaccinated. In Isiolo, created a lot of concern because the Grevy’s 30,000 animals were targeted but 29,482 Zebra is highly endangered while livestock animals (including 10,451 cattle, 17,779 is the mainstay of community livelihoods sheep and 1,232 donkeys) were vaccinated. and therefore continual deaths could have In Samburu, 20,000 animals were targeted; catastrophic impacts. The team suspected 20,359 animals (including 15,867 sheep, and confirmed quickly through testing of © Paul Muoria spore samples that this was an outbreak of anthrax. Anthrax is a highly infectious and lethal disease caused by soil borne bacteria called Bacillus anthracis. It occurs commonly in wild and domestic ruminants such as cattle, sheep, goats, camels, antelopes and the endangered Grevy’s zebra although it can also be transmitted to humans.