CLIMATE

Page <1> <2>

Biodiversity

Flora:
The flora of Ethiopia is very diverse. It is estimated that between 6,500 and 7,000 species of higher plant occur, of which about 15 percent are endemic (world Conservation Monitoring Center, 1992). Endemism is particularly high in the Ogaden, the Afro alpine vegetation zone and the Dry Montane forest and Grassland complex of the plateau. It is not so high in the humid forests of the southwest.

According to Brenan (1978). Ethiopia has the fifth largest flora in tropical Africa. Ethiopia is also one of the 12 centers of origin or diversification of cultivated crops (Vavilov, 1951). Zohary (1971) has identified 11 cultivated crops as having their center of diversity in Ethiopia. Coccinia abyssinica ANCHOTE and Guizotia abyssinica NUG are two examples of cultivated crops whose origin and diversification are in Ethiopia.

The Semien and Bale Mountains provide the best examples of Afro alpine vegetation with a wide range of endemic plants. The lowlands of the Ogaden are also known to have a very high number of endemic species.

Fauna:
The faunistic diversity of Ethiopia is also high. This is mainly due to the variations in climate, topography and vegetation.

A more recent checklist of the birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea (Ash and Atkins, in prep.) lists 816 species of birds for Ethiopia, of which 16 are endemic and 544 species for Eriterea, of which none are endemic. The checklist lists 29 species of birds endemic to Ethiopia and Eritrea jointly. Clearly, Ethiopia is one of the most significant countries, in terms of its avifauna, in mainland Africa. In contrast to birds, comparatively little scientific investigation has been carried out to document the diversity of reptiles and amphibians. It is anticipated that future research will yield substantial additions to both the overall number of endemic species. The invertebrate fauna is even less well-known than other fauna types, and it is difficult to give even approximate figures for it, but there is likely to be a similar proportion of endemic species to other fauna types.

Wildlife:
Ethiopia posses a wealth of wildlife within its political boundaries. While these wildlife, to a great extent, share affinities with neighboring countries, the diversity of endemics is high both in flora and fauna. Endemicity in Ethiopian wildlife is unique, in that unlike similar phenomenon in the region, which is associated to particular faunal regions, Ethiopian endemics are strictly correlated to political boundaries (Yalden et al. 1992). Even though boundaries are the products of human activities, the coincidence of encompassing one major geo-morphological block within political boundaries has given Ethiopia a long list of unique animals.

The origin of Ethiopian wildlife (faunal), are the result of immigration from other parts of the world, evolution, and activities of man on habitats and animals (Hillman, 1993). On the other hand, the endemics are the result of millennia of isolation of Ethiopia’s high mountain ranges from surrounding regions and the ensuing evolutionary diversification of its animals (Yalden et al. 1992). The different ecological zones in the country have passed through periods of extreme conditions, including expanses of glaciers, which covered much of the highlands for long period of time.

Wildlife is unevenly distributed in Ethiopia. The main concentration of wildlife appears to be localized in the south and western half of the country. In these areas, one can find Elephant, Buffalo, Giraffe, Lion, Cheetah, Wild Dog, Burchell’s Zebra, Grevy’s Zebra, Topi, Orbi, Grant’s Gazelle, Lelwel Hartebeest, Eland, Bushbuck, Dik-dik, Oryx, Gerenuk, Defassa Waterbuck, Common Waterbuck, Greater Kudu, Lesser Kudu, Hippopotamus and Crocodile. More than 400 species of birds are also to be found here.

The Gambella region region, perhaps long considered to have the richest wildlife and swamps adjoining sudan. Nile Lechwe, White-eared Kob, Roan Antelope, Bohor Reedbuck, Oribi, Lelwel Hartebeest, Lion, Leopars, Colobus Monkey, Hippopotamus and Crocodile are common.

In the east, wildlife is less plentiful. It occurs in the Eritrean to the Kenyan border. The wildlife here consists mostly East African plains game, excepting Giraffe and Buffalo.

In the north lie the mountain massifs of Semien rising to 4,600 m asl. These mountains have spectacular scenery and are hone to endemic species of mammal, especially the walia Ibex, Ethiopian Wolf and Gelada Babbon.

Conservation of these wildlife resources for present and future generations has been a strong objective in the creation of officially protected areas in the country. Awash and Semien National parks have been gazzated. This has, at times, produced legal ambiguities and problems for protecting these areas. Now management of all official protected areas is in the hands of their respective regional governments. This responsibility was handed to regional governments only in 1995 for sanctuaries, reserves and hunting areas, and in 1996 for national parks. The transition from central to regional, controls in the process of being consolidated.

The exclusion of human activity from these protected areas has never been complete. Since the flora and fauna coevolved with humans, and many of these areas are the traditional home areas of the people who live there, complete exclusion is not desirable. The infrastructure in many of the protected areas, which had been developed during the previous government was looted and destroyed in the period of instability following the change of government in 1991. By the end of 1996, rehabilitation of these areas had been started and councils involving representatives from the local communities had been established to oversee future developments of these areas.

Page<1><2>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACK TO: Introduction// Historical Overview// Climate// Economy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------