ULTIMATE
AFRICA SAFARIS
Ultimate Africa travel and wildlife news archive September 2000 New Road to Sossusvlei Opened, September 3 2000 Due to heavy usage and floods over the past three years, Namibia’s Ministry of Environment & Tourism decided to construct a tarred road from the entrance gate to the Namib Naukluft Park at Sesriem to Sossusvlei, the popular tourist attraction in the Namib Desert. This road has now been finished and tourists can travel 60km to the parking area five km from Sossusvlei. Sossusvlei still has water from heavy rains earlier this year and this is not expected to dry up until the end of September. This makes for spectacular scenery with the water-filled pan surrounded by the huge Namib dunes. Cape Town Cableway to Close for 5 Weeks, September 3 2000 Cape Town’s Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company (TMAC) has announced the closure of the cableway for its annual routine maintenance, effective August 21 until September 26, 2000. The TMAC says its routine weekly rope maintenance check had revealed that the rate of rope deterioration was slightly higher than was previously anticipated, and on the advice of the Anglo Technical Department (which specializes in rope condition assessment) and Haggie’s consulting engineer (Haggie being the supplier and manufacturer of the rope currently in use), the board of directors decided to close the cableway ahead of the usual annual maintenance week in September. The company says it’s awaiting the delivery of the new ropes, which are due to arrive on September 19, The TMAC concluded that its safety record over the past 70 years had been impeccable and continued to be the most important aspect of the cableway’s business. Zambia’s Anti-poaching Campaign a Success, September 3 2000 The Zambia Wildlife Authority (Zawa) has successfully launched an anti-poaching campaign arresting more than 700 poachers and confiscating 239 firearms throughout the country. Zawa also confiscated 63 elephant tusks and 430 rounds of ammunition. Zawa director of operations and research, Henry Mwima, is quoted as saying that the transformation of the department of national parks and wildlife services (NPWS) into Zawa late last year, had created a big vacuum with a lot of field officers being pulled out from the national parks. He said the poachers had taken advantage of the operational changes that Zawa had instituted and were roaming the parks at will. However, Zawa was aware of the impact on game management the changes had brought and was redressing the resulting problems. He reportedly said the wildlife officers who have had their contracts renewed have been instructed to move into the field as soon as possible. Kenya’s President Says Repair Roads, September 3 2000 Kenya’s President Moi has directed the Kenyan Tourism Ministry and the Kenya Wildlife Service to rehabilitate all roads leading to tourist sites. President Moi said infrastructure was important to Kenya’s image. "If roads leading to tourists destinations are bad, visitors will have a wrong image of this country. I will ask the ministry and KWS to rehabilitate them," he said. Mr. Moi asked coastal inhabitants to maintain peace to attract tourists. Kenya’s coastal region contributes 60% of the country’s tourism earnings with over 400 hotels! US Joins Forces with African Environmental Groups, September 3 2000 African environmental groups have joined forces with a Washington-based organization to force governments in Africa to curb exploitation of natural resources by governments. The newly formed coalition claims that many African governments come down hard on lobbies that demand environmental accountability. Peter Veit, World Resources Institute (WRI) senior associate and regional director for Africa, says that "Political space for environmental advocacy in Africa is very weak and the governments de-register NGOs. Environmental information is stamped ‘confidential’ and court cases challenging the environmental performance of governments and politically connected private sector business operations are thrown out on technicalities." WRI is a Washington-based independent center for research on global environmental and development issues. The organization provides partners with methods, tools and analysis for alternative environmental governance. It will now work with African NGOs such as Kenya’s African Center for Technology Studies, Tanzania’s Lawyers Environmental Action Team and Uganda’s Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment to push for environmental accountability on the continent. Revolutionary System to Aid African Gorillas, September 3 2000 Above east Africa a satellite is stealthily documenting the movements of its targets on the ground. Below, a super-sensitive camera strapped to the underbelly of an airplane scans the Virunga forest, creating images so exacting, scientists can discern between similar species of vegetation. On the ground, shrouded in the lush forest, field forces use state-of-the-art Global Positioning Systems to track their targets’ precise location and correlate the high-tech aerial images with the flora and fauna. The data then zips across the Internet to a lab at Georgia Technical University, where scientists use the information to create a 3-D virtual simulation of the forest. This is the new face of the quest to save the endangered mountain gorillas made famous by the movie Gorillas in the Mist, which followed American primatologist Dian Fossey’s 18 years living with and tracking the gorillas. Fossey, who was never equipped with much more than a pair of binoculars and a field journal, would probably be amazed at the high-tech Geographic Information System being used to study her beloved gorillas today. The project, a joint effort between the Dian Fossey Fund — the conservation group she founded — Georgia Tech and the National University of Rwanda, is affording scientists unprecedented insight into the gorillas’ habits and habitat. The gorilla population, about 350 scattered throughout this forest that caps the volatile mountain border between Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, is at an all time low. Scientists have long believed the encroachment and depletion of their habitat is the main culprit. "It’s pretty clear from the conservation status of the mountain gorilla that the chief issue of their survival is the maintenance of their habitat," said Dr. Dieter Steklis, an anthropologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey who serves as the Dian Fossey Fund’s chief scientist. Through the combined use of satellite and hyper-spectral images, digital maps, global positioning systems, remote sensor technology and wireless communications, scientists can understand the gorillas’ fragile environment like never before. "There’s lots of software that has been developed that allows you to bring together all the different information and create layers of data," said Steklis, explaining how the various technologies create the virtual Virungas. The different layers of data, he said, can be superimposed, manipulated and inter-related with each other to generate a much more detailed, nuanced and clearer understanding of the gorillas and their habitat. Nick Faust, principal research scientist at Georgia Tech, explains that his group is providing the technology for the project, and though most of it is not brand new, using GIS in conservation is revolutionary. One mystery scientists are hoping GIS will solve is why gorillas seem to prefer certain sections of the forest. The density of the population varies considerably throughout the range, and understanding how the gorillas use the land and what attracts them to specific regions will help scientists better calculate how many gorillas the habitat can support, where to concentrate their conservation and preservation efforts and how to duplicate the habitat, if necessary. "This technology allows us to correlate in a very precise way the habitat with the ways the gorillas use it, and identify the factors responsible for these different densities," Steklis said. Last August, the project received its first images when the company that developed the technology, Earth Search Sciences Inc., in McCall, Idaho, flew the first mission over the Virungas. These high resolution images record a unique signature for each different species of vegetation. Trackers on the ground used GPS to match the vegetation with the signatures; back at Georgia Tech, Faust’s team is creating a library of signatures. "The satellite has been up since 1972, but that gives you a large scale picture," said Faust. "It won’t tell you the difference between bamboo and nettles," he said. Hyper-spectral imaging can make those precise distinctions, and Faust’s team is using this data, and the information supplied by the other technologies, to create the virtual Virungas. The simulation, called the Non-Expensive Automotive Virtual Environment because it relies on personal computers instead of more costly supercomputers, uses projection screens, lasers and a stereoscopic system to immerse users in a three-dimensional forest. In addition to allowing scientists to identify important plants and foods, the GIS approach also allows them to monitor human use in the habitat, which is actually a protected national park. With Rwanda recovering from the bloody genocide that ravaged the country recently, the nation is resettling more than 1 million people, and the demand for timber, farmland and other forest resources is posing increasing threats to the gorilla’s habitat. "There is a lot of human usage of the habitat," said Steklis, adding that the gorillas seem to thrive if left undisturbed. Whether the environmental changes wrought by humans is driving gorillas from parts of the forest, or the gorillas are simply avoiding human contact, is another key piece of the puzzle the GIS technology will help to solve. But the project has already documented parts of the habitat that are plagued by illegal trapping, poaching, bamboo harvesting and the burning trees for bee-keeping. Ironically, while the focus of the project is Rwanda, the majority of the gorilla population resides in Congo, but the political instability in that country has made it impossible, Steklis said, to bring Congo on board. However, Congo and Uganda did permit ESSI to use their airspace for the first fly-over, and a second mission is being planned. Eventually, scientists hope to expand the project to the entire Virungan region. So far, the outlook is cautiously promising: Scientists have discovered that during their absence from the Virungas during the war in Rwanda, several new gorillas were born. Four Conservationists Killed in Gorilla Sanctuary, September 10 2000 Four members of a Congolese team involved in gorilla conservation efforts have been killed by Hutu militia in a gorilla sanctuary in southeastern Rwanda. An official for the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy, which controls the Gahuzi-Biega National Park, said that Hutu soldiers killed a Congolese journalist, a soldier and two park guides with machetes and guns. The conservationists were reportedly in the area to negotiate with traditional chiefs to extend the park's boundaries so that the approximately 70 eastern lowland gorillas that live in the sanctuary would have more space. The park has been closed to visitors since 1998 and staff have only been able to patrol 10% of the park, out of fear of attack from Hutu rebels. Elephants Relocated to Angola, September 10 2000 Thirty elephants began their journey to Angola last Friday in a plan to try and rebuild the country's war ravaged nature reserves. The elephants, from two families, are being donated by the Madikwe game park in South Africa as part of a five-year project called Operation Noah's Ark. The 25-year civil war in Angola has taken a heavy toll on the country and its people. It has also nearly wiped out Angola's wildlife, which has been killed in crossfire, by landmines or deliberately hunted down by poachers. But Operation Noah's Ark, which is being run by the Kissama foundation, is not just about restoring wildlife; it is intended to help revitalize the Angolan economy. Wildlife reserves are a huge tourist attraction and they bring in thousands of travelers every year. Between 10 and 15 animals were rounded up from the Madikwe Game Reserve. They were loaded into what are described as family-friendly crates, which secure the adult animals but allow the younger ones to move around freely. A second group was rounded up on Saturday. They were flown to Angola in crates Some wildlife groups have objected that, with the country still in a state of civil war, the authorities are gambling with the elephants' lives. But the organizers say they have picked Angola’s Quicama National Park because it has escaped the worst of the war. The area is free of landmines and when the elephants arrive they will be fitted with radio transmitters and placed inside a protective fence patrolled by armed guards. The elephants are just the first of a variety of animals to be donated to Angola over the next five years. In the end it is hoped the project will bring back to life the Angolan parks, which at present lie deserted and silent after the years of destruction by man. American Tourist Killed by Desert Elephant in Namibia, September 10 2000 An elephant killed one American tourist and injured another during a wildlife tour in the remote northwestern area of Namibia. Dean Hall was killed and a Dr A. Said was injured when a desert elephant charged a group of tourists trying to photograph it in the Huab River Valley. A senior official with Namibia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism is quoted as saying that the tourists left their vehicles and moved in between two groups of elephants from the same herd, and that the animals regarded them as a threat. Relocation of Elephant Groups to Angola a Success, September 17 2000 The Kissama Foundation and the North West Parks and Tourism Board announced in a joint statement that the recent relocation of 15 South African elephants to Angola was successful. The relocation forms part of the first phase of Operation Noah's Ark, a project to restock war-torn Angola's national parks with wildlife over the next five years. The elephants, which were transported in two family groups by cargo plane, were captured in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve and relocated to the Quicama National Park in Angola. Tracking collars have been put on the group leaders and the elephants will be monitored closely by experts from the Center for Wildlife Management of the University of Pretoria. A further 300 elephants from Botswana are to be relocated to Quicama next year. American Aid for Congo’s Parks, September 17 2000 Two national parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo have received a generous donation of equipment from the American agency, New Approaches. The two parks are Upemba and Kundelungu. The equipment includes bicycles, tents, plastic boots, raincoats, drugs, rucksacks and office stationery. The American donor has undertaken to also help other Congolese national parks. The Democratic Republic of Congo has eight parks containing valuable species such as mountain gorillas and rhinos. However, the species in six of the parks in the rebel-controlled areas in the east are reportedly facing destruction by rebels and their Ugandan and Rwandan allies. New Malaria Drug, September 17 2000 A new drug for the prevention and treatment of malaria in adults and children has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Malarone (atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride), manufactured by Glaxo Wellcome (GW) should now be available in US pharmacies. According to the company, Malarone is the first new malaria treatment discovered and developed by the pharmaceutical industry in over 40 years - not mentioning Chinese herbal procurements and plants that have been used for anti-malarial treatment over the past millennia. The prophylactic used most frequently in Africa at this time, Roche's Larium, was developed by the U.S. Army program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). Clinical trials leading to U.S. approval of Malarone for prevention of malaria caused by P falciparum involved more than 400 adults and children (children weighing at least 24 pounds). Studies showed that Malarone was 98% effective in preventing malaria. The most common adverse events in people taking Malarone for prevention of malaria included, headache and abdominal pain and occurred at rates comparable to placebo. For adults using Malarone for malaria prevention, the FDA approved a recommended dosage of one tablet daily, starting one or two days prior to entering a malaria-endemic area, one tablet a day while in the area and one tablet a day for only seven days after return. For children who weigh less than 88 pounds, a lower-dose pediatric tablet is available. Clinical trials for the treatment of acute, uncomplicated P falciparum malaria involved more than 500 adults and children (children weighing at least 24 pounds). These studies showed Malarone was 98.7% effective. The most common adverse events reported in over 10% of patients taking Malarone for treatment of malaria were abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and headache in adults and vomiting in children. Patients with severe malaria are not candidates for oral therapy, and Malarone has not been evaluated for the treatment of severe malaria, including cerebral malaria. For adult patients with acute malaria, four tablets are administered as a single dose once daily for three days. Pediatric dosages for the treatment of malaria are adjusted by body weight. Air Zimbabwe Shelves Plan for London - Victoria Falls Flight, September 17 2000 Plans by Air Zimbabwe to introduce a weekly direct scheduled flight from London to Victoria Falls using its wide-body, long-haul Boeing 767 aircraft in November are on hold. Air Zimbabwe earlier this year announced plans to operate a weekly scheduled direct flight to the resort after a successful trial flight using the 203-seater long-haul aircraft. Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) chief executive Godfrey Manhambara said the authority still had to decide on the Air Zimbabwe request after the results of the evaluation are out. "The data that was captured during the trial flight at Victoria Falls is currently being evaluated together with other information to help the authority determine the feasibility of a regular B767 operation into the airport," said Manhambara. He said that the evaluation was expected to be completed by December. In June the information and data that was gathered during the Victoria Falls B767 aircraft trials was forwarded to Boeing Company in the US for further analysis. An airline spokesperson last week confirmed that representatives from CAAZ and Air Zimbabwe sent data to Boeing which would then use the information in a simulator. Commenting on Air Zimbabwe's desire to commence operations as early as November this year, Manhambara said that as had been previously advised, the authority would demand strict safety precautions before it could sanction the operation of the flight. CITES Clears Zimbabwe of Illegal Ivory Sales, September 17 2000 The Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species or CITES has cleared Zimbabwe of allegations of illegally selling ivory to China in breach of a global freeze. CITES appointed investigators from the Trade Records Analysis Flora and Fauna in Commerce to probe reports by the British Sunday Times newspaper that Harare had sold 8.1 tons of ivory to China. The paper alleged the money was used to finance Zimbabwean troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The investigators, who have spent several weeks in Zimbabwe probing the matter, said they had found no evidence of illegal ivory sales to China or any other country. "The main conclusion is that all stock within Zimbabwe's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management central store is adequately accounted for." Said lead investigator Tom Milliken. CITES, anxious to curb poaching, banned trade in ivory and Zimbabwe risked stiff penalties if it had been caught flouting the ban. The investigators said that between 600 and 800 elephants would have been killed to get the 8.1 tons of ivory the country allegedly sold to China. This would have easily been noticed, they noted. Hunters Target Kenya/Somali Wildlife, September 17 2000 A wildlife conservation group has said locals and foreigners were decimating wildlife populations around the Kenya/Somalia border. The Hirola/Arawale Wildlife Conservation Community chairman, Mr. Hassan Sheikh Ali, said locals had turned to wildlife for meat as most of their livestock had died of drought. "We have set up a team to visit Garissa and Southern Ijara to educate the residents on the need to conserve wildlife," Mr. Ali said in Garissa Town. The chairman said poachers targeted zebras, giraffes and antelopes and sell game meat to locals. The chairman appealed to the Kenya Wildlife Service and Non-Governmental Organizations to help eradicate poaching in the area. He urged the government to rehabilitate local wildlife sanctuaries and maintain them well. Kenyan Government Takes Blame for Tourism Slump, September 24 2000 The Kenyan government has taken responsibility for the poor performance of the country's tourism industry and vowed not to allow a repeat. "The performance of the industry in the past few years has not been impressive. We have learned important lessons and will not let history repeat itself," tourism, trade and industry minister Nicholas Biwott said recently. Kenya’s tourism sector declined sharply in the 1990s, mainly due to insecurity and crumbling infrastructure. Political violence was also blamed for the downward trend, which has brought the tourism sector to its knees. Mr. Biwott recently said a close working relationship between the government and the industry has generated a new focus and direction in the sector. Uganda Park Closed because of Gorilla Scabies, September 24 2000 A family of prized mountain gorillas in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park have been placed in quarantine following an outbreak of scabies. The Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, Dr Robbie Robinson, said the family would be opened to tourists as soon as all the gorillas have been successfully treated. Currently two families in Bwindi and one in Mgahinga are open to tourists. Each group can only be visited by a group of six people per day. Scabies is a skin disease caused by termites that burrow under the skin. New Gorilla Family Habituated, September 24 2000 Uganda's income from mountain gorilla tourism is expected to increase by US $50,000 per month when a newly habituated gorilla family in Bwindi will be accessible to tourists soon. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) tourism manager, Lilian Ajarova, said that the new Nkuringo family could be visited by six tourists daily. Human Disease may Drive Mountain Gorillas to Extinction, September 24 2000 Apart from poachers, human diseases may drive the world's last mountain gorillas to extinction. A recent study revealed that Rwanda's gorilla population of 400 individuals contracted measles, a disease previously only found in humans. Six gorillas died as a result. Researchers, or more probably tourists, infected the animals. Researchers stopped the epidemic by administering oral vaccines and are now reappraising the disease danger that humans pose to primates. Colds, flu, polio, measles and other human diseases are apparently a far more common threat to primates than previously realized. The solution is not an easy one. Vaccines can be administered to halt an epidemic and save wild primates. However, many scientists believe that interventions of this nature will leave the apes increasingly dependent on humans for protection, and that they will, in effect, no longer be wild animals. Ugandan Chimps Threatened by Refugees, September 24 2000 A conservationist has warned that ape-eating refugees displaced by the two-year civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are threatening to wipe out the chimpanzee population in neighboring western Uganda. Wilhelm Moeller, a consultant with the Uganda Wildlife Education Center, said Ugandans do not normally eat members of the ape family. However, the practice is spreading with the arrival of large numbers of Congolese refugees. Meat from monkeys, chimpanzees and other small apes forms a significant part of the diet of people in the two Congos, the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The chimpanzee population in Uganda is estimated at around 3,000 animals in the forests along the border with the DRC. Illegal Slaughter of Wildlife Harmful to South Africa’s Reputation, September 24 2000 Uncontrolled trade in protected animals is threatening South Africa's reputation as Africa's conservation leader and is also endangering its multimillion-rand tourism industry. According to a recent article, Dr Ian Player, one of South Africa's leading conservationists, warned that unless government enforced the necessary laws to stop wholesale slaughter of wild animals, the country's tarnished conservation reputation will scare away foreign tourists. Even though existing laws allow for fines of up to R100,000 (US $14,000) or a 10-year jail sentence for illegal trade in protected animals or their parts, conservationists are powerless to act as authorities have decided on an unofficial moratorium on such arrests. Authorities apparently believe it is better to try and educate the traders than to arrest them. These traders are mostly muti (traditional medicine) dealers who feel that tradition justifies the trade in animal parts. South Africa Hopes High to Host Next Earth Summit, September 24 2000 South Africa is hoping to host the next Earth Summit in 2002. The meeting is expected to draw between 3,000 and 5,000 international media representatives. During Earth Summit 2002, governments and non-governmental organizations from around the world will have the opportunity to debate and secure commitments to sustainable development worldwide. The South African bid to host the meeting has the backing of President Thabo Mbeki, all the African countries as well as Europe. First South African Diamond on Display, September 24 2000 The Eureka Diamond, the first diamond to be to discovered in South Africa in 1866 by a young boy on a farm close to the Orange River on the Northern Cape, is currently being displayed at the National Science Museum (NSM) in Tokyo, Japan as part of a 'Nature of Diamonds' exhibition which ends on November 12, 2000. The 10,7 carat diamond was bought by De Beers Consolidated Mines in 1966 and presented to the South African Parliament by then MP (Member of Parliament), the late Harry Oppenheimer. The diamond is now on permanent loan by the South African Parliament to the Kimberley Museum and a replica is on display at Parliament's Gallery Hall in Cape Town. A major highlight of the exhibition is a high security walk-in vault housing some of the world's most famous and notable diamonds. The exhibition is being co-organized by De Beers, the NSM, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun daily newspaper and the American Museum of Natural History. "Hey folks, Zim’s not so bad after all!" by Julie Goodman, September 24 2000 When I told my family I was leaving the United States to live in Zimbabwe, they had mixed feelings. Americans, when we think of Africa, entertain visions of basketweavers and ancient hieroglyphics, bare-breasted women in the throes of tribal dance, and idyllic safari trips where elephants actually live outside the zoo. But we also associate Africa with unparalleled danger, a place where Aids spreads uncontrollably, malnourished children showcase protruding ribs, and rebel warriors amputate the limbs of anyone in their way. From what we hear in the West, you would think the whole continent was going up in flames. So as news of Zimbabwe’s pre-election violence hit the US just before I left, my family had a virtual meltdown. Why put myself in danger? Why risk getting sick? What’s wrong with going to Canada? they asked. My mother fretted, my father pleaded, my grandmother cried. As I prepared to leave, I was warned not to eat the food, not to drink the water, and if I could help it, not to breathe the air. Well, I have been here two weeks now and the worst thing I have experienced so far is jet lag. Even that was tempered by the remarkable hospitality Zimbabweans have shown since I arrived. A steady stream of people have welcomed me, offering me sadza and spinach, ordering my preferred beer, and making sure I had a supply of soap and toothpaste. As a visiting reporter for The Standard, I have spent my time so far talking to many residents and canvassing the shops and clubs of Harare. The people I have met have been friendly and curious, ready to discuss everything from Mugabe to Monica Lewinsky—with some more knowledgeable about American politics than myself. So no, I have not been kidnapped by tribesmen. I am not in a hospital with leprosy, and my parents will be happy to know there’s no bone piercing my nose. Instead, I am surrounded by women who balance boxes on their heads and babies on their backs. Julie Goodman is an American journalist attached to The Standard newspaper in Harare, Zimbabwe. Return to Weekly Update Archive |
