Wildlife in Sudan: Abundant resources, great challenges
30 August, 2010
The world’s fastest land animal, cheetah– sprinting on a predatory chase at 120 km per hour; lion– proverbial king of the jungle, regally poised with his belly to the ground, head up, eyes gazing over his domain, paws stretched horizontally as he rest on his forelegs, ready to pounce upon the moment of instinct; packs of zebra, those amazingly black and white striped, docile horses on which the big cats prey; 7 ton gracefully swaggering elephants– like thunder converted from sound to quiet mass; Sudan within its 2.5 million square kilometers (967,500 square miles) has one of the world largest and most diverse populations of heavyweight mammals.
Its extensive riverine areas are rich with big reptiles– alligators, crocodiles and monitor lizards. Delightfully coloring trees and air, exotic birds play polyrhythm symphonies through the country’s wildlife reserves.
With such vast wealth in wildlife, added to its unparalleled archaeological sites, Sudan from 1989 to 2004 increased its tourism income by 260% from $28 million to $74 million. The challenge faced is not only to keep management capacity apace with the growing number of tourists coming to enjoy Sudan’s renowned hospitality and unique menu of attractions, but above all to fully develop the country’s tourism potential.
Apart from the work and cost of protecting the animals from poachers and epidemics, suitable accommodation and facilities, such as transport, for tourists visiting the wildlife reserves needs greater investment.
"There is a need to join all efforts of the authorities concerned with wildlife and environment protection to work out necessary solutions for the issues facing the wildlife sector in the country", Gen. Abdul-Baqui Abdalla al-Meki, Director of General Administration for Wildlife Protection, argues.
General Administration for Wildlife Protection has recently organized a meeting that involved authorities concerned with wildlife protection and tourism to utilize their experiences together with the efforts of civil society institutions to preserve and protect the various types of wildlife against illegal hunting and unplanned expansion of agricultural and development projects.
"The importance of natural reserves emanates from the fact that they constitute 7% of the total area of the country", Prof. Mohamed Abdalla al-Rayeh, Chairman of the Wildlife and Natural Reserves Board, told Sudanow.
The experts believe that to preserve the wildlife and natural reserves in Sudan, tough laws should be enacted to help conserve the environment, organize it and associate them with tourism and investment.
Sudan is among the first countries that demonstrated concern for natural reserves and national parks. This dates back to 1930 when the first laws for organizing and protecting wildlife in the country were enacted.
Dindir National Park, established in 1935 on the Sudanese border with Ethiopia, was the first of its kind in Sudan and became a member of the Network of World Biosphere Reserves in 1979. Located some 680 square kilometers southeast of Sudan’s capital city Khartoum, it is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country, owing to its population of wild animals and birds, forests, pastures and balanced natural environment with Dindir and Rahad seasonal rivers flowing through. The global significance of DNP is that it falls between two important ecological zones (the Sudano–Sahelian and the Ethiopian). It is a major flyway for birds migrating between Eurasia and Africa and hosts 27 species of large mammals, over 160 species of birds and 32 species of fish, as well as small mammals, bats, reptiles and amphibians. Large mammals include giraffe, hartebeest, reedbuck, roan antelope, bushbuck, oribi, waterbuck, greater kudu, gazelle, dik-dik, buffalo, lion, and ostrich. Dindir also has black rhinoceros, leopard, cheetah, elephant and striped and spotted hyenas. Covering 10,000 square kilometers (3,500 square miles), Dindir is about the size of Lebanon.
The hunting and rare birds' areas in Sudan extend from the chains of the Red Sea Mountains along the Red Sea coast and southwards way down from the Eritrean border and to Egypt in the north. This includes the area between the Red Sea and Nahral-Neel. The mountain goats and the Eritrean gazelle are the most prominent animals in this area.
Vegetation at Dindir consists of thorn-bush savannah in the north and woodland in the south. Along the riverbanks there are palm or gallery forests and swampy areas. A number of tributary streams and lakes cover large parts of the total area towards the Ethiopian highlands; in the Southern corner of the park there are a few rocky hills.
There is also Wadi Hawar (Hawar Valley) Natural Park. Its streams flow from the top of the Western Mountains in Darfur and through the desert to outpour in the River Nile. It is occupied by animal and vegetal life including different species of gazelle, ostrich, lions and tigers.
Additionally, there is Al-Radoom Reserve in South Darfur. It is distinguished for its wonderful natural scenes, including Kundi oasis for birds. The most prominent animals in this reserve are tigers, lions, different species of gazelle and wild dogs, as well as many residing and migrating species of birds.
The Western Sudan desert area Northwest of Darfur used to have different types of wild animals including a variety of gazelle types. However, these animals have now become very rare.
A distinct reserve is Sanganaib Marine National Park in the Red Sea. It is the first Marine National Park in Sudan. This is an area where one could relish the beauty of the still-unpolluted areas of the Red Sea, the magnificent scene of Sanganaib Island, coral reefs and scuba diving off the Red Sea coast which is considered to be one of the most beautiful places among its peers in the world.
Sanganaib Marine National Park covers an area of about 6 km in length and 2 km in width. The park is known for its richness of marine life forms, 124 groups of coral reef among them, along with three species of sharks. There are also dolphins, turtles, fishes and a quite good representation of molluscus and archins (sessile and locomotory members of both groups).
Other wildlife rich tourist areas include Jebel Marra in Western Darfur with its fine moderate climate and fascinating nature, Erkawait resort on the Red Sea Plateau west of Port Sudan and the Sabloqa cataract north of Khartoum.
Former Secretary General of the Supreme Environment Council Dr. Nadir Awad al-Amin says the marine wildlife in Sanganeb and the Red Sea are rapidly endangered by human behavior, explaining that man and his ships together with over fishing and terrible pollution on the shores further aggravate the predicament.
Al-Amin believes that the solution is to support the Regional Authority for Conserving the Red Sea Environment and Aden Gulf with a view to reducing risks of navigation and sea pollution and to better and sustainably exploit and develop these sea resources.
Sudan’s climatic, ecological and cultural diversity not only makes the country’s tourism menu one of the most interesting in the world, but affords tourism throughout the year. In this diverse menu, the journey from the desert and savanna zones of North Sudan, southwards into the savanna and equatorial zones of Southern Sudan provides a broad and gradually contrasting African tourism experience.
Once in the South, tourist may visit Sudan’s biggest and second oldest nature reserve, Southern National Park, which covers 2, 300, 000 hectares. Situated on an ironstone plateau in the south-west of the country, south of Wau, the capital of West Bahr El Ghazal State, it was declared as a national park in 1939. The park is bounded on the west by the Sue River and on the east by the Maridi River, while the Ibba River bisects it north-south. It consists of gently undulating country with low ranges of hills separated by the three parallel northward-flowing rivers and is mostly covered with savanna woodland.
It accommodates most types of mammals and has been established mainly to protect the white rhinos and elephants from extinction. There are other mammals at SNP such as buffalo, hippopotamus, wild pigs and giraffes; besides various species of monkeys, leopards, tigers, foxes, African dog and cats, among others.
Other reserves in Southern Sudan are Buma Game Park, Nimule Game Park, Bandinglo Park and Imatong. Buma, which is in a valley and has hills running laterally along its edges, is the first of these to be provided with tourist facilities; including an airstrip with flight services provided by Al Aim Company from the United Arab Emirates. Established in 1977, Buma Game Park covers an area of 2, 280,000 hectares.
Shambe National Park, which along with Southern National Park is the second oldest wildlife reserve in Sudan, having been declared a national reserve in 1939, covers 62, 000 hectares. It is situated on the western bank of the White Nile, about 120 kilometers east of Rumbek town (Lakes State) between longitudes 40, 48 east and latitude 7, 10 north. It was established to preserve rhinos, hippopotamus and other mammals including different types of gazelles, foxes and monkeys, as well as lions, giraffes and ostriches.
Bandengailo National Park is also known as Bandegailo Reserve. It was established in 1975 on an area extending 1,650 hectares. It lies between Central Equatoria State and Lakes State. It was also established to preserve the rhinos but accommodates a great number of wild birds of different species besides mammals such as the African elephant– the largest in the world, rhinos and various gazelle. A training centre for wild life officers is to be established in Bandinglo.
Nimuli National Park, established in 1954, occupies an area covering 41,000 hectares, some 210 kilometers form Juba. It is bordered by Kayo River in the north, Central Equatoria in the east and to south-west the Ugandan border. Rhinos, wild pigs, giraffes, gazelles, monkeys, lions, tigers, African dog, foxes, wild cats, ostrich and others inhabit the reserve.
Rashad area in South Kordofan, 885 feet above sea level, constitutes a wildlife environment with a moderate climate year around, featuring breathtaking charming natural scenery. It also enjoys rich orchards and interesting archaeological sites. Additionally, there is the Nuba mountains area with its unique ethnic diversity and Kelik Lake which is a center of attraction for lovers of beautiful landscape and bird hunting.
The banks of the Blue Nile, given the extreme flow down from the Ethiopian plateau, and the White Nile, the majestic slow current, many twists and grass-covered swamps, constitute a wide field for different types of water sports. Additionally, the area is the biggest bird hunting spot in Sudan.
The most frequently caught bird in the country is the duck, found mainly in the west of Blue Nile State. There is also Habary which is found in Kassala, Blue Nile, North and South Darfur, North and South Kordofan and Northern States. The hunting season for these birds extends from October to January. Another bird is al-Qarqar, which is found throughout the year in Kassala, Blue Nile, North and South Darfur, North and South Kordofan and the northern states, as well as in Southern Sudan states. Pigeons are found in Khartoum and White Nile States.
The Director of the General Administration for Wildlife Protection, Major General Dr. Abdul-Baqi Abdullah al-Mekki stressed that "there are many problems threatening the wildlife in Sudan, notably over-fishing, which is not authorized by the official authorities, and which has its direct serious impact on wildlife".
"Additionally, the expansion of mechanized farming, which affects vegetation and pastoral cover, also negatively affects nature", he told Sudanow.
Experts believe that much of violation of protective laws and regulations are due to insufficient wildlife protection park rangers, besides the fact that the wildlife reserve areas are so huge fully protecting them presents an awesome challenge; hence, penetration becomes easier.
"We lack specialized cadres and other potentialities that help in deployment of wildlife protection forces to cover all target areas", Major General Dr. Abdul-Baqi concluded.
However, he said hunting in protected national reserves is subject to international conventions on protected animal trade, which are divided into three categories, each concerned with specific types of animals.
The expert went on to explain that hunting animals in category one is prohibited, while the animals in table two are allowed but according to specific regulations and systems. He noted there are many problems within the protected areas and national reserves including over hunting, random fires, collection of honey, illegal cultivation and other illegal activities that are prohibited inside Sudan's 12 natural reserves.
Experts have stressed that developing the wildlife protection administration will have a positive effect on the national economy. Sudan yet has far to go in developing its great tourism potential, which is second to none, and wildlife is one of the major offerings on the countries tourism menu; along with archaeological sites, scuba diving, eco-tourism and desert tourism.
End Isharaba Abas/Z N/Mohamed Osman
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