Bale Mountains National Park - Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt

Management Programmes
Five management programmes, addressing logically grouped issues were developed:
1. Ecological Management Programme
2. Sustainable Natural Resource Management Programme
3. Tourism Provision and Management Programme
4. Park Operations Programme
5. Outreach Programme
Ecological Management Programme
This programme is based on an adapted ecological management and monitoring approach that is
based on the latest international conservation planning methods and best practices. Eight Principal
Ecosystem Components (PECs) have been identified by technical experts and which together
capture the unique biodiversity of BMNP. If all these PECs are conserved, then the long-term
health of the park’s ecosystem will remain intact.
Principal Ecosystem Components Level of Ecological Organisation
1. Hydrological System System
2. Harenna Forest
3. Erica forest and shrub
4. Gaysay grasslands
5. Hagenia/Juniper woodland
6. Afroalpine
7. Mountain nyala
8. Ethiopian wolf
Community
Species
The Ecological Management programme has identified and prioritised the threats to these PECs
and has devised strategies for their reduction or mitigation. The major cross-cutting threats arising
from human population expansion in BMNP have been addressed specifically in the Sustainable
Natural Resource Management (SNRM) Programme. Other prioritised threats are addressed in
this EM Programme. These include actions to reduce the threat of fire, particularly in forest areas
and the Erica shrub. Specific threats to populations of endangered species, particularly the
Ethiopian wolf and mountain nyala, are addressed through better control of domestic dogs in the
park, improved disease management. A number of research and monitoring priorities have also
been identified to assess the severity of threats that were identified as lower priority or for which
there was insufficient information with which to assess the level of threat.
This programme also provides the framework for management orientated monitoring and research
of the PECs, their key ecological attributes and threats - a crucial stage in adaptive management.
Information on the status of the PECs and their threats will be fed back to enable the design and
implementation of appropriate future management actions in this and other programmes. The
ecosystem monitoring plan is included in Appendix 1 of the GMP. This monitoring plan also
identifies ecological indicators for monitoring the achievement of the park purpose, which is a key
component of the overall monitoring and evaluation of GMP implementation
A suite of actions also address the paucity of data and understanding of ecosystem processes in
BMNP, for example the factors affecting tree and shrub regeneration and the collection of baseline
data on the extent of potential threats. A list of prioritised research has been drawn up and will be
Executive Summary ix