Simien National Park

• Presence of armed groups
• Poaching; Loss of biodiversity
• Encroachment at the borders of the site
• Road construction
• Lack of management mechanism (including legislation)

At its 25th session (Helsinki 2001), the Committee requested the State Party to submit a report specifically addressing the issues that were emphasised in the IUCN/UNESCO monitoring mission report (April 2001). Based on this report the Committee set the following benchmarks in relation to the possible removal of Simien National Park from the List of World Heritage in Danger:

·  Realignment of the Park’s boundary to exclude the villages along the boundary;

·  Extension of the Park to include at least Mesarerya and Lemalino Wildlife Reserves;

·  Significant and sustainable reduction in the human population density within the Park, especially within the core area; and

·  Effective conservation within the extended National Park of a larger population of Walia Ibex and Simien Fox.

The Centre and IUCN received the State Party’s report dated 3 December 2002. Additionally, a report dated 21 March 2003 was received from the Swiss-based National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North – South, in cooperation with the East and Southern Africa Partnership Programme (ESAPP) of the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) (University of Berne), based on a mission undertaken to the National Park from 25 February to 7 March 2003.

These reports provide the following information with regard to the benchmarks:

·  On the question of realignment of the Park’s boundaries, the State Party reports that discussions between all relevant stakeholders have been initiated in November 2002, under a new Simien Mountains National Park Integrated Development Project, jointly implemented by the Governments of Ethiopia and Austria. Detailed boundary negotiations are expected to take place on a village-by-village basis involving each of the 30 villages surrounding the Park. These negotiations might take away too much land from the Park and hence diminish its biodiversity value.

·  On the issue of the Park extension, the State Party notes that this will be included in the planning and negotiation process started by the Austrian funded project. The process will include the definition of purpose and extent of additional conservation reserves, one in the Silki – Kidus - Yared – Abba Yared area and one in the Weynobar –Analu –Ras Dejen – Abbat Dejen area.

·  The State Party gives no information about the reduction of the human population density in the Park. NCCR reports that no reduction of the human population within the Park has taken place yet and that contacts made with one village show strong resistance to resettlement. It has informed IUCN about its plans to undertake a scientific study, which would assess numbers of wildlife in the National Park in cooperation with the Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI). The study would begin in October 2004 and would include the issue of review of World Heritage boundaries.

·  On the issue of the effective conservation of the Walia Ibex and Simien Fox within the park, the State Party reports that populations have significantly increased from 1998 to 2001. Direct counts of Walia Ibex are indicating a increase from 270 individuals in 1995 to 514 in 2002, whilst the population of Simien Fox is reported to have increased from an estimated 20 – 30 individuals in 1997 to 45 in 2002. NCCR reports that they were unable to confirm these figures and recommend to carry out a detailed assessment of wildlife populations using techniques which exclude any double counting.

The State Party also provides information on the efforts of the regional government to strengthen the management of the Park. The rehabilitation of the Dirni Camp was completed, 16 additional scouts recruited, the number of vehicles increased to four, two computers were purchased and the operating budget increased from around US$ 56 000 in 1998 to around US$ 83 000 in 2001. A regional steering committee, led by the vice president of the regional government was also created in order to follow up the activities and progress on the conservation of the site. The State Party also reports that the illegal activities such as cultivation and logging have been reduced, although no detailed figures are reported. Numerous measures for community development and agriculture have been undertaken and efforts will be stepped up under the Simien Mountains National Integrated Development Project. The State Party further reports that the numbers of tourists and the collected revenue have been increasing. The NCCR/CDE mission report highlights the subsequent need for the development of plans for tourist camps and a comprehensive master plan for private investments in the vicinity of the Park.

IUCN:

IUCN notes, based on the NCCR/CDE mission report, that there have been significant improvements in strengthening coordination and management of development activities in the Simien Mountains. The new information provided above has been proposed on a consensual basis between IUCN and the Centre.