Abstract
National parks are areas of land protected to conserve native plants and animals and their habitats, places of natural attractiveness, historic heritage and native cultures. The objective of this review paper was to identify challenges affecting conservation and management of national parks in Ethiopia and based on review results, to suggest management strategies that can bring solutions to the problems. Lack of sense of ownership, limited awareness, population growth, lack of coordination, conflicts over resources, Issues of boundary/Lack of Boundary, invasive species, illegal charcoal production, climate change, and poverty are the identified challenges that are affecting the conservation and management of national parks in Ethiopia. Developing sense of ownership within community, awareness creation and development, collaborative approach and consultation among stakeholders, co-management and resolution of border issues, reduction of free grazing, invasive species utilization, care during introduction and biological control, reduction of fuel-wood consumption and increase carbon sequestration, improving incomes, institutional and policy reforms are the suggested strategies that can bring solutions to the problems.
Highlights
Protected areas cover almost 13% of the Earth’s land surface (Chape et al, 2003)
An effective management practice of protected areas is one of the best methods to achieve nature conservation in a given ecosystem (Amare, 2015) which requires an understanding of major factors that affect both the conservation and management of National Parks in Ethiopia
Even though the local community is participating in different activities of conservation and management of national parks in Ethiopia such as in, providing information about illegal activities in the parks (Gashaw, 2015), they are not involved with the park planning and management decisions (Asmamaw & Verma, 2013; Petros et al, 2015)
Summary
Protected areas cover almost 13% of the Earth’s land surface (Chape et al, 2003). In parts of the world where most of the landscape has already been transformed by anthropogenic activities, these protected areas can be the only natural or near-natural ecosystems remaining (Stolton et al, 2015). National parks are areas of land protected to conserve native plants and animals and their habitats, places of natural attractiveness, historic heritage and indigenous cultures (NSW, 2015) These areas are centers of gene-banks (e.g. for wild coffee and enset) and traditional ecological knowledge and have a direct economic benefit to the country; bringing in international revenue from tourism and carbon trading (Young, 2012). Four of the Ethiopian national parks, one of the wildlife sanctuaries and three of the community conservation areas are currently under different forms of international trade mechanisms for climate change mitigation, like CDM (Clean Development Mechanism, e.g. Humbo) and REDD+ (e.g. BMNP) This means that international funding helps to finance the protection. This is the case when international conservation NGO’s like Frankfurt Zoological Society or WWF supports national parks with funding and management advice
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