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Back To: Environment
Dinder National Park
This Biosphere Reserve
covers an area of 650,000ha is in southeastern
Sudan on the border
with Ethiopia. It lies 400km southeast of the capital Khartoum.
Lions, monkeys, giraffes, leopards, bushbucks, kudus, antelope and
many kinds of birds can be seen there. The park's main season is
January-April. Only limited tourism is allowed.
Dinder National Park was established in1935 and became a biosphere
reserve in 1979.In 1980 it was extended to include a buffer zone, so
that the total area today is 890,000ha. Much of the park is
low-lying flood plain sloping gently from the Ethiopian Highlands
with the Rahad and Dinder rivers flowing across the the Park. Both
rivers are seasonal and flow from June to November. A number of
tributary streams and lakes cover a large percentage of the total
area towards the Ethiopian highlands, and in the southern corner of
the park there are a few rocky hills. Precipitation ranges from
800mm in the south to 600mm in the north and falls mainly between
June and October. Temperatures range from 20C in January to 44C in
May.
The wetlands produced by the rivers and streams are vital as a
source of water for the grasses grazed by herbivores, especially
during the dry season. Some of these animals like the tiang gazelle
are endangered. Like the rest of the Arab region, Dinder and Sudan
are located on the bird migration routes, which feed on the fish ion
the lakes during their visit. The ostrich population is falling due
to illegal hunting.
The mammal population includes giraffe, buffalo, reedbuck, antelope,
waterbuck, greater kudu, bushbuck, various gazelle species,
elephant, lion, leopard, and cheetah, striped and spotted hyena.
Threats to Dinder
National Park abound: it has been affected by the long civil war in
Sudan, the droughts and famines. Around 50 villages lie in or
directly outside the park, about 7,200 people live within the
reserve boundaries. Herders, poachers, charcoal makers have
contributed to the loss of the Park’s habitat. The need for food,
fuel and pastures leaves people little choice but to take advantage
of the resources within reach.
Local and international organizations are working in cooperation
with the communities around the park and involving community leaders
in the development of the Park’s buffer zone to make the project
viable:
• In the past, the villagers cut trees to make charcoal; now they
are planting Acacia trees in “people’s forests.” The trees offer a
sustainable supply of wood, as well as fodder for livestock. The
trees are planted three meters apart with the surrounding lands used
for growing vegetables that provide the villagers with cash income
and food. So far, 17 hectares have been planted for the
participating 100 households, and there are plans to add another 15
hectares for 60 additional households.
• the photovoltaic
initiative was introduced to promote the use of solar energy as a
substitute for fuel wood.
As both a UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve and since 2005 a Wetlands of
International Importance (Ramsar) the Park’s importance is
recognized for the following:
• its proximity to the
desert and semi-desert makes it an important buffer zone for the
vegetation cover of Central Africa in addition to its significance
in providing genetic material for rehabilitation in the arid and
semi-arid tracts.
• it is an important
watershed area protecting the most influential feeders of the Blue
Nile, Dinder and Rahad rivers and their tributaries.
• the reserve, together
with the south -western corner of the Ethiopian Plateau, makes, a
complete ecosystem for wild animals in which the Dinder reserve is
the dry season habitat for migratory species.
• It supports a high
diversity of fauna and flora. It is the only area in the region
where game species such as the African Buffalo, Lion and the
Elephant still exist.
Source :
http://www.rbas.undp.org/programme/country/Sudan/sud.pdf
map source:
http://www.arabmab.net/bra.htm
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