Operational Report
April 2008 Annual Report
The annual report for 2007 was completed, approved by the Board and gone to print. Copies should be distributed in May.
AP Netherlands Board meeting
• The Board of AP Netherlands met in mid April. Mr Cees Veerman, the previous Minister of Agriculture in the Dutch Government was appointed to the Board. The annual financial statements for 2007 were approved.
• Extensive discussions took place on the fundraising strategy of AP Netherlands and the Board has requested the submission of a proper budget to support this critical aspect of our work. The formal agreements between UBMC (family van Vlissingen Company) and AP Netherlands, committing to the funding of the APN overhead cost, were also approved.
• The Board also decided against the partial transfer of shares in African Parks Ethiopia to another Dutch organisation, preferring a clean termination of our involvement in the two projects in Ethiopia.
Funding partners
• The funding proposal submitted to WWF Netherlands for total financial support amounting to €600,000 for Majete and Liuwa in FY2008 has been approved by WWF. The funding will cover projects not already covered by other funding commitments (e.g. wildlife translocations) and will also make a contribution to the general management costs of the two parks. This will be followed in the coming months with the longer term agreement focusing on the financing and management of two or more new national parks to come under AP management. Partnership Agreement with Clifford Chance
African Parks Network concluded a partnership agreement with Clifford Chance, one of the world’s leading law firms, for the provision of free legal services in countries where they are represented and support in managing legal assignments in countries where they are not represented. This represents a significant saving to APN as the establishment of projects always requires legal work, as does the conclusion of partnerships with donors, tourism investors and even staff contracts.
Withdrawal from Ethiopia
• At the end of April, the authorities eventually responded in a positive manner to the transfer of the parks back to Government has now committed to a meeting to discuss the legal interpretation of the contracts and consequently what will happen to the assets in the park. Conservators have been nominated and a team of civil servants has been chosen to check the asset inventories.
• Management has also been exploring an alternative exit strategy involving the transfer of shares in APE to a joint venture company formed by an Ethiopian Travel company and a Dutch Management Consultancy. The AP Netherlands Board decided not to keep a share in African Parks Ethiopia, one of the conditions
two parks, preferring a clean transfer of responsibility back to the authorities. Regardless, the joint venture company is still considering purchasing 100% of APE, should government give its consent, despite the loss of funding from the Embassy.
• AP’s withdrawal from Ethiopia has catalysed a meaningful enquiry by the
authorities into the problems facing Nech Sar and they appear intent on resolving them. The Federal and both State Governments now recognize the merits of the compromise agreement reached with the Guji in September 2007 as the only sensible solution for Nech Sar. Whilst this is too late for African Parks, if the authorities follow through on their commitments, Nech Sar may still have a future.
Park Operations
Liuwa Plain National Park
• Two projects, of great importance for the future planning of Liuwa were
commenced. These are the Economic Impact Analysis being done by a volunteer, and the Land Use Plan exercise being done by a consultant. The Land Use Plan will require wide consultation with local stakeholders and will be of great use within the context of managing the park, but also if the envisaged Transfrontier Park between Zambia and Angola comes into being.
• Steady progress was made with the improvement of AP infrastructure in Kalabo including the volunteer accommodation and aircraft hangar refurbishment. • Liuwa hosted Hilde Klok from the Koornzaayer Foundation. Hilde had an
opportunity to visit some of the projects funded by the Koornzaayer Foundation including the Lukoko School Project and LEEP. Other potential development projects were also discussed.
• The Financial Coordinator was given notice and the job will be filled once the job description for the post has been revised.
Lukoko School, now completed. Hilde Klok and Ad Roling with a teacher at Kalabo High School.
Majete Wildlife Reserve
• Good progress was made with the varied infrastructure projects such as the new scout camp at Pende where houses are now almost complete, and the elephant boma at Pende in preparation for the elephant translocation at the end of May / beginning of June. Thawale Tented Camp has also been refurbished and two tents added.
Elephant boma and off-loading ramp Pende Scout Housing
• The rhinos are being sighted frequently. Lundu lost his transmitter which was recovered, and Regan is thought to have lost her transmitter as well, as there is no signal transmission, but she is being physically sighted.
• The very active program of community outreach continued and with the
beginning of the dry season various firebreak committees around the boundaries of Majete have been formed. These local people voluntarily clear firebreaks to protect Majete, and the sources of thatching grass which they are allowed to harvest inside the reserve, from fires.
• 132 paying guests visited Majete during the month.
• The container of equipment, originally destined for Omo but rerouted to Majete, was received during the month. Patricio Ndadzela did an excellent job in
negotiating the importation of the goods duty free.
• The arrangements for the translocation of an additional 50 elephants from Liwonde to Majete are at an advanced stage. Unfortunately APN has had to decide to withdraw from the Phirilongwe component as a result of different opinions within Government on how to solve the human/elephant conflict in the Mangoche area. This withdrawal does not materially impact on the restocking of Majete, the primary motivation for the exercise was to assist Government solve their problem.
Nech Sar
• The Arba Minch police have arrested a suspect involved in the repeated incidents of robbing tourists in the park, after Nech Sar management offered a reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual. The person has confessed his guilt and a weapon and items stolen from tourists have been recovered. • Illegal use of the park’s resources continues at an alarming rate despite the
continued efforts of the law enforcement scouts.
• The Christensen Foundation has promised to bring ist support to the city of Arba Minch, to support their conservation efforts for Nech Sar National Park.
• The government has decided to approve/sanction the agreement of the core area boundary that was negotiated and concluded between AP management and the community of Guji Oromo residing inside the designated boundary of NSNP, without any change.
• In accordance with this agreement the authorities are urging the community to respect this agreement and accordingly have instructed them to withdraw their herds of cattle from the plains and to dismantle /remove all the tukuls within the agreed core area.
Omo
• Poaching is on the increase. Patrols on Sai Plain reported carcasses of 2 eland, 1 Tiang and 1 Buffalo killed by the Suri. Scouts also found an eland carcass killed by Nyangatom in the Illabai area. During an aerial patrol a giraffe carcass was found west of Tining Plain. On close inspection it had been poached – intelligence revealed that the Mursi were responsible. This was one of only 18 known giraffe in Omo, a major loss. • There has also been an increase in
conflicts between the Nyangatom and the Suri. This is likely to be linked to knowledge of AP’s departure in that over the last 18 months of consultations with the communities, the concept of neutral areas between the different ethnic groups’ territories has become accepted and the emptiness created by AP’s departure probably represents a “territorial expansion opportunity”.
Tiang on Illibai Plain
Dungonab and Sanganeb Marine Parks, Sudan
• The Government of Sudan has still not shown any sign of engaging African Parks in the negotiation of a new contract. The current contract terminates in August 2008 so management is now preparing an exit strategy encompassing issues such as budgets, staff termination procedures, regulations linking AP to the Sudanese authorities and asset disposal.
• Turing Foundation, our financial partner in Sudan, has been briefed about the prevailing circumstances and the likely outcome.
• AP Sudan has now received the final financial report from IUCN (Regional office in Nairobi), and this project is now considered as closed.
• APN decided that the balance of last year’s community fund will be disbursed to the two villages with which AP has been collaborating for the last 3 years (Dungonab and Mohammed Qol). The total amount of USD 40,000 will be used to purchase medical supplies and equipment, as well as school materials.
Garamba National Park, DR Congo
• The main focus of the month was the completion of the “rhino operation”. This involved intensive ground and aerial searching and two specialised trackers from Zimbabwe and one wildlife vet from Namibia were deployed, together with several parties of rangers patrolling the so-called rhino sector. Unfortunately, no rhino were spotted during the whole exercise. It is now proposed to use the same trackers for longer periods (3 months) in order to increase the chance to locate any remaining rhinos, which would then be captured and equipped with horn transmitters.
• The infrastructure expert has completed his first mission, and has produced a draft master plan for roads, buildings and other infrastructures for the park. It is expected that this expert is going to be recruited on a full-time basis for the implementation of the plan. Among the new projects, the site for visitors’ infrastructure has been selected and preparation work has begun.
• The project’s technical advisor has managed to secure the amount of EUR 190,000 for the purchase of a grader, as well as EUR 50,000 for the partial funding of a book on Garamba. He will have more meetings in Kinshasa in May, and the prospect for identifying more funds is quite positive.
• The second phase of intensive training has been completed for a group of 31 rangers, under the leadership of an experienced Kenyan trainer. This group has immediately been allocated to the rhino monitoring patrols. Further ranger training is expected to be held in the next couple of months.
Prospection of Parks Uganda
• A meeting was held with the Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority in Kampala. Over the years, UWA has undergone a drastic overhaul of its structures, strategies and operations. While the institution still has a long way to go in terms of efficiency and professionalism, it is definitely adopting a modern approach towards conservation. The model proposed by AP is actually one of the strategies described in the long-term development plan for the organisation. However the UWA approach assumes commercial gain and hence uses a
concession model whereby the grantee is supposed to pay concession fees to the institution. African Parks is welcome to bid for the management of any of 3 wildlife reserves that have just been advertised. However, the ecological value and tourism potential of these reserves need to be properly investigated before doing so. Any application will have to follow very strict bidding procedures imposed by the national tender board. The potential for AP involvement in Uganda seems real, but further investigation into rules, procedures and contract models is necessary before committing further.
DRC south, Katanga
• Contrary to most of the other Congolese national parks that have benefited from the status as world heritage sites or from the donor interest in rain forests, the parks in Katanga have been neglected for the past 30 years.
• The oldest park of the region, Upemba National Park (PNU) was originally created in 1939. The current boundaries encompass a total area of about 1 million hectares, to which there is a “Zone annexe” of 300,000 hectares where certain activities are officially permitted and regulated. It is very diverse ecologically: the main habitat is Miombo woodland with a plateau covered with open grassland and gallery forests, but the park also contains the largest wetland
area of the country, with lakes, rivers and extensive swamps. Altitude varies from 500 m to 1800 m.
• Kundelungu National Park (PNKL) was created in 1970 and covers about 220,000 hectares. There is also a “Zone annexe” of ca. 540,000 hectares, which contains the “Lufira
Biosphere Reserve”. The park is mainly the plateau area with a mix of Miombo woodlands on the borders and vast grassland areas. There is a dense network of rivers, with some spectacular waterfalls. The most impressive one is by far the Lofoi waterfall, which is the highest fall in Africa (347 m). Average altitude is 1700 m.
• A short trip was organised in April, and a full day was spent flying over the complex of protected areas, while several meetings were held with some key stakeholders. The first general impression is rather positive. Despite their general state of disrepair, those parks still offer some great potential. • The ecological value of the protected area complex is extremely high: endemic species, unique diversity of large mammals, variety of habitats including vast tracts of wetlands, etc.
• Scenic value: even almost empty, the parks still offer some truly stunning attractions: high plateau, rugged mountains, and most importantly, amazing
waterfalls that could by themselves attract visitors.
• With the revival of the mining industry in the region, more and more opportunities are opening up, with an increase in the number of wellpais employees and the funding potential that the big
international mining companies may provide.
• The recent signing of a MoU between ICCN and a local NGO called “Biodiversité au Katanga” (BAK). This NGO was set up by a group of Belgians who have lived in the area for generations. The chairman of BAK is Mr George Forrest, who has built an empire in construction, mining and real estate, and is the richest person in
the province (and close to the president of DRC).
• A group of wealthy Congolese and Belgian businessmen have started an
ambitious plan to develop several up-market lodges in the region. The first lodge is under construction just outside the annex of Kundelungu NP, at the bottom of Kiubo falls, which are spectacular.
• Follow-up will be done in May, in order to consolidate the information we have on the parks, and on the potential to establish some partnership with key
stakeholders. Gabon
• Following on from the initial trip to Gabon in January, a subsequent trip was undertaken to better understand the political and institutional issues. Initial meetings were held with representatives from the two key wildlife NGOs in the area, notably Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and WWF to determine their willingness to embrace the African Parks approach in Gabon. Similarly initial meetings were held with ANPN, the national wildlife authority who is willing and eager to adopt the approach.
• Further discussions will now be held with Rombout Swanborne to determine the way forward.
Buffalo on the beach
Bangweulu Wetland Park and West Lunga National Park
Excellent progress was made on the compilation of the business plans for each of these parks. These will be submitted to the APN board for approval in May. approval.
