Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...

Introduction
This <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> of <strong>Walia</strong> grew from a research and monitoring symposium that was conceived by
Stuart Williams of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme and Alastair Nelson of Frankfurt Zoological
Society back in 2004, when they were both leading projects in the Bale Mountains. Their idea was to work
out a vibrant research programme for the future by bringing together all those research active at the time in
the Bale Mountains, those interested in future work and those that had experience elsewhere in key subject
areas. The symposium was hosted in the lodge at the Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) headquarters
in Dinsho in early 2005 and allowed national and international experts to present their work, discuss the
dynamics and status of this extraordinary and relatively unique ecosystem and make plans for the future. In
these respects, it was a landmark occasion for the park.
The symposium was important for other reasons, not least because it provided the basis for developing
an ecological monitoring plan for the BMNP. The assembled expert group worked together to identify the
priority ecosystem components of the Bale Mountains and thus the ecological systems and processes that
should be the targeted for conservation action. They also articulated and ranked the threats facing those
ecosystem components. Whilst subsequent iterations refined these outputs, the symposium developed the
foundation of the framework for conserving and monitoring this site of global importance and a key part of
Ethiopia’s national heritage.
Those involved from the beginning will know that this <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> of <strong>Walia</strong> has had one of the
longest gestation periods of any known publication. Indeed, during this gestation, two of the editors have
created a little girl each, and the other editor’s two little girls have almost grown into teenagers! Sometime
after the symposium, Simon and Deborah revived the idea of this <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> and took on the onerous job
of cajoling and bullying some recalcitrant authors to provide manuscripts. They also raised money from key
BMNP partners to ensure its publication. When Anouska joined FZS on the Bale Mountains Conservation
Project (BMCP), she was co-opted to the editorial team and brought fresh enthusiasm to the endeavour.
Together they were able to obtain additional contributions from authors who had not been at the original
symposium, thus providing a more complete record of research in the Bale Mountains. The result is that this
<strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> pulls together many aspects of research work carried out in the Bale Mountains between 1990
and 2011.
Simon provided much of the initial drive for the publication of this <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> and his untimely
death in 2009 occurred on the brink of the final stage. This was a blow for the other editors and took some
time to overcome. It is to their huge credit that they did find renewed energy to ensure its completion, thereby
also providing a tribute to Simon and his contribution to the Bale Mountains. I would like to thank them for
their dogged and polite persistence.
Perhaps partly because of its long gestation period, the <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> of <strong>Walia</strong> provides a valuable
assimilation of the research carried out over the past two decades. It also lays out tools for the future
management of the ecosystem. But many unanswered questions remain and the management challenges are
becoming ever more complex and urgent. Thus, I hope that this publication encourages others to build on
previous and ongoing work by continuing to undertake management oriented research in the Bale Mountains.
A list of priority research topics is available, first included in the 2007 General Management Plan (GMP) and
now updated and maintained on the BMNP website (www.balemountains.org).
Finally, this <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> is evidence of the range of individuals and organizations involved in
research, monitoring and management activities in the Bale Mountains and the partnerships that already exist.
<strong>Walia</strong>-<strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> on the Bale Mountains 1