Simien Mountains National Park in Ethiopia seems too rugged to support life.
But in fact there is too much life here.
These mountains are home to the last remaining Ethiopian wolves. They are also home to growing tribes of Ethiopian farmers, who need new farmland.
These farmers need grazing land, and land for their offspring to live. This puts enormous pressure on the endangered Ethiopian wolves.
The wolves losing hunting grounds to overgrazing by cattle. Also, they come into contact with domesticated dogs, which transmit diseases like rabies and canine distemper.
Getachew Assefa, Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program coordinator, Simien Mountains National Park estimates that there are only 120 wolves left in the 412-square-kilometer park.
“They are almost at the brink of extinction,” he said. “So my vision is to increase their number significantly.
“Grazing has to be reduced. Encroachment has to be reduced. Even the human population has to be reduced.”
The only way to ensure a future for the wolves is to remove the humans. And surprisingly, the humans are doing just that.
The farmers have long cared for the park. They understand that overgrazing hurts the park, their livelihood, and the wolf packs.
Cooperative efforts between park officials, farmers, and the governments of nearby towns are allowing whole villages to be relocated to surrounding towns, out of the danger area.
Farmers form Gichi village held meetings to discuss what to do. Eventually they accepted an offer to relocate to the nearby town of Debark
“In an effort to significantly reduce the human population that is living in the park protected area, we have successfully managed to relocate all the settlers in Gichi village, explained Maru Biadgelegn, Chief Warden of Simien Mountains National Park.
“All the villagers wanted to move to Debark town and after acquiring a 250 square meters (2690 sq. ft.) area of land for each villager from the town administration, we relocated all the villagers. They are all now living in a better conditions.”
Farmers were not thrilled to get so little land, but they agreed for a variety of reasons.
“The farmers here have always looked after the park all this time by taking turns to control grazing,” said one farmer. “We seek our children to go to school and lead better lives. But our main source of disagreement is that the land is too small.”
“We came to agree that we will all protect the park from anything bad. And we asked for continued support of the government in the future so that the next generation will be well aware so as not to put pressure on the park,” said Zezo Adugna, one of the farmers who chose to move.
“We want our children to depart from farming life and progress in a better direction so that they will create no additional pressure on the park.”
These farmers want more for their children than pushing ox-drawn plows through infertile soil.
It is that hope of a better future for their children that motivates them to give up their homes.
Their sacrifices will also allow a more hopeful; future for the wolves.
