Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP)

Description

The Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP) is a world heritage property located some 800km north of Addis Ababa in Amhara National Regional State in the northern Ethiopia highland massif. The property area was only 136 square kilometers when it was originally established under the Negarit Gazetta No 4 of 31st October 1969, Order No 59 of 1969. More recently, the Simien Mountains National Park boundary had been extended in order to secure larger areas of suitable habitat for the Walia ibex and Ethiopian wolf and to protect the entire afro-alpine and afro-montane vegetation communities on a scenic landscape in the year 20010-2013. In the effort of the participatory re-demarcation process of the national Park, important sites including Mesarerya and Limalimo Wildlife Reserves; and the Silki, Kidus Yared and Ras Dejen Mountains with the interconnecting corridors had become part of the property and exclude some villages situated on the edge of the park and some areas under cultivation based on the need to comply with the national conservation laws and policies that prohibit settlements and cultivation; and regulate extractive use of resources in national parks. Thus, the current Simien Mountains National park extends from 37051'26.36''E to 38029’27.59’’E longitude and from 13006'44.09 '' N to 13023'07.85'' N latitude with a total area of about 412 square kilometers and formally gazetted in the national law in the year 2014 with the regulation No 337/2014.

Due to the significant boundary modification made on the recognized world heritage property vast natural areas of land (more than 2/3 increase) included to the property through gazettement made in 2014 however it is required that the World Heritage Committee need to approve and formalize the new boundaries of the World Heritage property through the significant boundary modification. To submit the request to the World Heritage Committee, formal tentative list and then a new nomination dossier need to be prepared in accordance with the Operational Guidelines. The process would also allow harmonizing the currently differing names of the Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP) and the Simien National Park World Heritage property. It is also important to highlight that Ethiopia received International Assistance from the World Heritage Fund to prepare the nomination dossier for the significant boundary modification already in 2013. At that time a draft dossier was prepared but not finalized due to various reasons. Currently the state party is working with UNESCO to get some financial support to finalize the required Nomination dossier of the property.

Simien Mountains National Park represents a highland refuge for Ethiopia’s unique afro-montane biodiversity and natural heritage given that already over 97% of the natural highland vegetation in the country has been lost to agriculture, settlement, and unsustainable use. The Simien Mountains National Park found in northern Ethiopia is a spectacular landscape, where massive erosion over millions of years has created jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys and sharp precipices dropping some 1,500 m. The park is of great international significance for biodiversity conservation because it is home to two endemic and endangered animal species, namely: the Walia ibex, a wild mountain goat found nowhere else in the world and the Ethiopian wolf also found only in Ethiopia. Other endemic species found in the Simien Mountains National Park include: Gelada monkey or bleeding heart baboon, Minilik bushbuck, Abyssinian catbird, Black-headed siskin, Ankober serin, Spot-breasted plover, Abyssinian long-claw and Black tit as well as the Ethiopian tussock grass.

There has been extreme forest reduction, high levels of soil degradation and high population pressure in areas bordering the Simien Mountains National park, although most of area of the national park, including the recent (2007) extensions, has remained relatively intact save for areas of settlement which predate the creation of the park.

The Ethiopian Government decision to make major extensions to the park boundaries, resulting into more than three times the original park size of 136 square kilometers (136,000 hectares) to 412 square kilometers (412,000 hectares) is a strong demonstration of commitment to the long term protection of the invaluable natural heritage comprised within the national park in its expanded form. Moreover the Ethiopian Government has also diverted the existing public roads traversing the park to the outside and is committed to implement a voluntary evacuation of all people living within the park boundary in the Gichi village which for a long time has been an issue of both ecological and social concern as a continuation of scaling up the good experience of Arkuasiye voluntary relocation which was conducted in 2009. Other government programs relating to livestock, agriculture, water, and soil are complementary to the conservation objectives.

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

The Simien Mountains National Park that was already nominated and listed as a world heritage site in 1978 satisfy criteria vii and x for outstanding universal value. The property comprises of a spectacular landscape that is part of the Simien mountain massif, located on the northern limit of the main Ethiopian plateau. The undulating plateau of the Simien mountains has over millions of years been eroded to form precipitous cliffs and deep gorges of exceptional natural beauty. Some cliffs reach 1,500 m in height and the northern cliff wall extends for some 35 km. The mountains are bounded by deep valleys to the north, east and south, and offer vast vistas over the rugged-canyon like lowlands below. In some places, the escarpment forms high elevations that provide splendid natural lookout points such Gidir Got, Imet Gogo and Ras Dejen which offer unparalleled panoramas along the high plateau and down the lowland areas. With good weather stunning views of natural beauty up to 100 kilometers over the valleys are possible. The Simien Mountains is part of the 800-kilometer-wide mountain system of Ethiopia, formed out of a combination of volcanic activity and uplifting. It is the largest highland area above 3,000 m in Africa and has been described as the “roof of Africa”.  The highest point in the Horn of Africa, Ras Dejen at 4,543m, is found in Simien Mountain National Park.

A combination of diverse altitudinal variation, unique climate and isolation have given rise to a number of rare and endemic species in the Simien Mountains National Park found nowhere else globally. The park falls within the Afro-alpine Centre of Plant Diversity and the Eastern Afro-montane biodiversity hotspot. It is home to a number of endemic and globally threatened species. The cliff areas of the park are the main habitat of the endangered Walia ibex (Capra walie), a wild mountain goat which is endemic to the Simien Mountains, while the Afro-alpine grasslands and heathlands are home to the endangered Ethiopian wolf or Simien fox (Canis simiensis), considered to be the rarest canid species in the world and the Gelada baboon (Theropithecus gelada), both of which are endemic to the Ethiopian highlands.

Other mammals include hamadryas baboon (papio hamadryas), serval cat (Felis serval), leopard (Panthera pardus), caracal (Felis caracal), wild cat (Felis Silvestris), spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), golden jackal (Canis aureus), and some large herbivores including bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), common duiker (sylvicapra grimmia), and klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus). The bird list for the park includes some 130 bird species. Flagship birds include lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus), Verreaux's eagle (Aquila yerreauxii), kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), lanner falcon (F. Biarmicus) and augur buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus). In Simien Mountains National Park, a total of 21 mammals have been recorded, with ten (10) endemics and 130 bird species, including seven (7) endemics. 

Plant diversity includes a mixture of Afro-Alpine woods, heath forest, high montane vegetation, montane savanna and montane moorland with tree heath (Erica arborea), giant lobelia (Lobelia rhynchopetalum), yellow primrose (Primula yerticillata), everlastings Helichrysum spp. Ridge tops and gorge sides support coarse grassland with herbs (Thymus spp., Trifolium spp., Geranium arabicum). There are over 1,200 plant species in the park of which 3 are only found in the Simien Mountains National Park: Festucca gilbertiana, Rosularia simiensis and Dianthus longiglumi. Rosa abyssinica (Abyssinian rose) is found only in Africa and Yemen, while Juniperous procera, Hagenia abyssinica, Olea Africa and Cordia Africana also found in Simien are threatened.

A distinct and extensive Ericaceous belt (often termed ‘Sub-Afroalpine’) occurs between 2,700 and 3,700 m in the Simien Mountains National Park which does not correspond to the altitudinal range of similar Ericaceous zones on the mountains of tropical East Africa like Mt Kenya, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Rwenzori.

The scenic natural beauty as a result of geological processes and weathering are stunning while the endemic walia ibex, a wild mountain goat found nowhere else in the world is astounding. The Ethiopian wolf (also described as the golden wolf) and the Gelada baboon (often described as the bleeding-heart baboon) are natural beauties. All of these including the endemic plant communities and rare and endemic birds constitute the Universal Outstanding Natural Value of Simien Mountains National Park.

 
With a sound and sustained conservation and management program that the Ethiopian government is committed different and very key activities (resettlement of Gich and Arquaziye villages and open corridors, incorporate key walia habitats into the park from janamora woreds, incorporate key Ethiopian wolf habitats and spectacular views from beyeda woreda- this includes the highest pick of the country ‘ras dejen’ and the limalimo forest from debark woreda). These significant area modifications increased the park area from 136km² to 412km²⁾

In addition to the significant boundary modification the Ethiopia government work strongly to significantly decrease the threat of the property in collaboration with local leaders and partners and made the area free from grazing, cultivation and deforestation which provided  adequate habitats  for the 3 iconic species (Walia ibex, Ethiopian wolf and Gelada Monkey population) and a legal guarantee for the protection of the entire afro-alpine and afro-montane vegetation communities on a scenic landscape, cliffs, gorges and escarpment in the property.

Statements of authenticity and/or integrity

It is recalled that Great effort had been made by the state party to address the tough benchmarks set by UNESCO IUCN mission in 1996 to maintain the integrity of the property and remove the park from the world heritage endangered list. These includes re-demarcation of the park boundary which made possible to extend important habitats of the three iconic species (Walia Ibex, Ethiopian wolf and Gelada Monkey); voluntary relocation of the Arquazia and then Gich people outside the park.

The park surrounding areas are inhabited by humans who are in one way or another depends on the resources of the park including livestock grazing, harvesting trees and other vegetation, cultivation or some marginal settlements. Currently, threats to the integrity of the property include some scattered human settlements along the margin of the park, cultivation and soil erosion, frequent fires in the tree heather forest; grazing (though it is being controlled currently). The current boundaries of the property include key areas essential for maintaining the scenic values of the property and to protect the iconic species of the property. A number of important strategic plan have been put in place and effort continued to ensure their practical implementations with collaboration conservation partners and stallholders. These includes: the park General Management plan, tourism development plan, Grazing pressure reduction strategy and integrated fire management plan.

The population of the endangered and iconic species have been observed to increase over the last decades; the livestock grazing almost controlled since the implementation of the GPRS in 2017 and about 82% of the park land under core protection zone (free from domestic grazing); vast area of the natural habitats of the property has been rehabilitated. 

Apart from the abandoned Gich relocated people land, the three extensions to the Simien Mountains National Park (the Masarerya and the Limalimo Wildlife Reserves and the Ras Dejen Mountain and Silki-Kidis Yared sectors) and their interlinking corridors are free of human settlement and cultivation and support the key species that are central to the Outstanding Universal Value of the park. Effort is also underway to finalize the road construction to divert the public roads traversing the park. Generally, the newly added natural land are not only the most important for the survival of the iconic species, but are also very important for in situ conservation of a number of important mammal, bird, plant, and amphibian species associated with the corresponding afro alpine and sub afroalpine habitats.

Comparison with other similar properties

Simien Mountains National Park can be compared in global terms with the following sites:

Maloti Drakensberg park (world heritage listed in 2000 with Criteria: (i)(iii)(vii)(x))

The Simien mountains compares to the Maloti Drakensberg in Southern Africa as they both comprise of igneous basalts that have been eroded to form precipitous cliffs and deep valley systems. However, they show significant differences between them in terms of their geology, geomorphology and their diversity of plants and animal species.

Grand Canyon (1979):

The only other comparison in terms of geology and geomorphological features is the Grand Canyon in Colorado, United States of America, but again the plant and animal life are very different.

Rwenzori National Park, Uganda (1994):

It was included in the list of WHS to protect mountain and forest habitats and their associated fauna and flora communities. But the land formation, landscape, the flora and fauna is different from SMNP.

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (1981):

This park is smaller in size like Simien Mountains National Park and it’s included in the WHL to protect high elevation grassland plateau, forest and the associated rich fauna and flora. But the land formation, landscape, the flora and fauna is different from SMNP.

Kilimanjaro National Park, Kenya (1987):

This park was inscribed to the WHL because of its exceptional natural beauty, rare and endangered plants, and animal species similar to SMNP but the land formation, landscape, the flora and fauna is quite different from SMNP.