Message from the Head of the Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Development, and Administration Sector
The Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Development, and Administration Sector focuses on ensuring the sustainable benefits of tourism. It achieves this by identifying, studying, demarcating, protecting, conserving, and developing national parks and wildlife conservation areas within the region. The sector also expands eco-tourism sites and community-based tourism developments. It works to enhance the participation of local communities living around these attractions and other stakeholders by raising their awareness. By establishing frameworks for research, conservation, development, and utilization—while monitoring, supporting, and empowering implementing bodies—the sector prioritizes safeguarding these attractions to ensure fair benefits for the region’s communities.
Our region possesses numerous national parks and wildlife protected areas. The main ones include Omo, Nechisar, Mago, and Maze National Parks, Tama Community Protected Area, Murle Controlled Hunting Area, and the Arba Minch Crocodile Ranch. Currently, these national parks and wildlife protected areas face various natural and man-made challenges. These problems include climate change, population growth, environmental pollution, illegal hunting, illegal agricultural expansion, unregulated livestock grazing, deforestation, and illegal land encroachment.
Furthermore, because the buffer zones (breathing spaces) of our region’s lakes (Lakes Chamo and Abaya) have completely converted into farmland, and due to a lack of soil conservation work, the lakes are silting up, leading to the destruction of their biodiversity. Therefore, the Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Development, and Administration Sector will work closely with various stakeholders and local communities to study these invaluable natural resources. Based on research findings, the sector will act to rescue and develop these assets, ensuring the community benefits equitably. In conclusion, I call upon our lower-level structures to develop wildlife conservation areas with high potential so they can contribute effectively to the sector.
Mr. Gelgelo Gelsho
Head, Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Development, and Administration Sector