Explore the Relation between Investment, Wildlife Conservation and Livestock Grazing on Mago National Park its Implication for Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

Abstract

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Study Protected areas are the main home for biodiversity conservation in the world. They are designed to conserve native plants and animals with their natural habitats, rehabilitation of endangered species, preserving terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and providing ecosystem services mainly provisioning, regulating, and supporting services that support the livelihoods and wellbeing of many people who depend on them (Genaye, 2018; Bekele & Estifanos, 2018). In Africa they are monopolized and administered by government of the country (Legese, 2019). Ethiopia is found in horn of Africa become a critical region for high diversity and endemic diversity of both flora and fauna diversity (Mekbeb et al., 2019). Currently, there are about 73 wildlife protected areas categorized under six categories for management. These are 27 national parks, 2 wildlife sanctuaries, 6 wildlife reserves, 25 controlled hunting areas, 5 biosphere reserves and 8 community conservation areas (Eshetu, 2019). These protected areas contain more than 7000 species of higher plants with 12 % are probably endemic, 320 species of mammals with 36 endemic, 862 species of birds with 16 endemics, 201 species of reptiles with 9 endemics, 63 species of amphibians with 24 endemics and 180 species of fishes with 40 endemics species (Schubert, 2015). However, the management and conservation of the protected areas of Ethiopia have been influenced by different factors such as agricultural expansion, lack of sense of ownership and boundary, limited awareness of society, population growth and human encroachment, resettlement, lack of coordination between different stakeholders, conflicts over resources, introduction of invasive species, illegal charcoal production and hunting of wild animals, climate change, environmental pollution and poverty (Bekele & Estifanos, 2018; Wondimagegn, 2020; Wassie, 2020). The lower Omo Valley is one of the region where huge diversity found located in South Nation Nationality Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS). This area contain protected areas such as Omo, Mago National Parks, Tama and Chelbi Wildlife Reserves, Murule and Welishet Sala Controlled Hunting Areas which was primarly designed to protect the huge biodiversity and the 2 complex natural ecosystems and key larger mammal (DUBO, 2015). In this area there is also a large scale investment project which is Omo-kuraz sugar development project established by the Ethiopian Sugar Development Agency (MoFED, 2010). The aim of this investment is for the effective strategies of economic development, food security, creating job opportunities and poverty reduction which results improvement of the livelihoods of peoples (Degife & Mauser, 2017). On the other hand this project have negative impact on agro-pastoral peoples to access grazing land and Mago National Park by excluding about 30000ha of the park areas for the project establishment (DUBO, 2015; Ebeyehu et al., 2021). Mago National Park (MNP) was established in 1970 and re-demarcated in 2003 to the total area of 1942km2 by considering the local community settlement and resources uses, wild animal’s distribution, movement and habitat, and the established Omo-Kuraz Sugar Development Project in the area. The park is home to about 81 larger mammals and 230 species of birds. Among the large mammals found in the park are African elephant, buffalo, lesser-kudu, greater kudu, duiker, warthog, hartebeests, Oryx, , gerenuk, giraffe, cheetah, wild dog, gureza, common baboon and varies of other species (Mekbeb et al., 2019; Eshetu, 2019). Now a day, the Omo kuraz sugar development project implementation is started which results the increasing of irrigation facilities of Varity of crops and create job opportunity for peoples. Indeed, it creates the disappearance of buffer zone as a result of land clearing for large scale farming production which compromises biodiversity conservation and prevailing of local livelihoods (Benedikt Kamski, 2016). Therefore, since the project is become expand the Mago national park biodiversity and Omo- Turkana river basin will become under threat and the amount of grazing lands for livestock production become diminish results with creating negative impact for sustainable use of natural resources. Accordingly, this study will create a basis line for conservation of wildlife’s and grazing areas by determining the impacts of investment in the area.