ADDIS ABABA -The Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority called for every stakeholder’s active engagement in wildlife heritage conservation.
Authority Public Relations Head Getnet Nigussie told The Ethiopian Herald that currently, Ethiopia is losing its diverse wild animal resources following the uncontrollable human interventions in national parks and wild animal habitats.
There are 27 wildlife conservation parks in the country. Out of these, some 17 are national while 14 are state-administered. The lack of workable land-use management poses a challenge on the national park conservation process, he added.
Currently, Rhino has disappeared from Ethiopia. The number of leopards, cheetahs, and lions are also dwindling from time to time. Besides, numerous bird species, giraffe and other wild animals are migrating into neighboring countries like Kenya due to the environmental instability here caused by human-made problems, Getnet said.
According to him, building the institutional capacity of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority is fundamental to maintain the safety of every wild animal. Upgrading its structure is required to safeguard and conserve wild animals properly through improving its performance. The authority has more than 1,300 employees but the lack of salary hinders the authority from enhancing its performance. “Wide awareness creation and public mobilization is important to mitigate the current problems of national parks. The community is doing its level best to protect the national parks throughout the country,” he stressed.
There are more than 540 tour operators and 1,000 hotels and loges operating throughout the country but contributing less to the safety of national parks and wildlife, he said.
“Everyone should be responsible to engage in the conservation of the wildlife from possible danger.”
Recently, more than even Elephants killed in Mago National Park by illegal traffickers.
Covid-19 pandemic is also posing a threat to wildlife conservation in the country.
Illegal grazing, farming, resettlement, and deforestation activities are expanding in the national parks following the occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2019, most of the Ethiopian National Parks hit by a massive wildfire.
The Semien Mountain National Park home to the Ethiopian endemic Walia Ibex and Red Fox is among the largely fired last year and it requires concerted rehabilitation efforts of the government and the community.
Accordingly, the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority is undertaking various measures to rehabilitate the country’s wildlife resource in coordination with pertinent stakeholders.
The Ethiopian Herald July 16, 2020
BY TEWODROS KASSA
NEWS6
