118/119 Biodiversity and Tropical Forest Assessment for Angola

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Exhibit 10. The situation in Angola’s national parksNationalParkArea (ha)Dominant VegetationTypesKissama 969,000 Semi-arid Baobab savannas,mangroves, wetlandsCurrent Status (general) Management Status Major ThreatsVegetation in good condition, fauna severely depleted.Small northern section (10,000+ ha)under-administration by KissamaFoundation. Minimal presence in restof park. Re-introduction of selectedspecies managed within enclosure.Development in park (shrimpfarming), encroachment,cultivation in wetlands, oilproduction, livestock grazing,charcoal productionCangandala 63,000 Miombo and edaphic (poorlydrained) savannasVegetation in excellent condition. Fauna seriouslydepleted but residual number of large (roan) and small(duiker) antelopes persist. Important population (30+) ofgiant sable (Hippotragus niger) persists.Park benefiting from Giant Sableproject. Community guards patrolpark on regular basis. CatholicUniversity of Angola, the Ministry ofEnvironment, and the ProvincialGovernment of Malanje.AbsentPoaching, humanencroachment/agriculture,charcoal production.Iona 1,600,000 Namib Desert, sparselyvegetated gravel plains andplateaus, scrubland, dunesand extensive beaches,gravel plains. Welwitschiamirabilis habitatBicuar 740,000 Miombo and Mopanewoodlands crisscrossed byephemeral drainage linesDesert elephant (Loxodonta Africana), black rhino(Diceros bicornis), desert lions (Panthera leo) presumedextinct. Oryx (Oryx gazelle) and springbok (Antidorcasmarsupialis). Zebras present in residual numbers.Previously known for large herds of common antelopes(elephant); roan (Hippotragus equinus); eland(Taurotragus oryx); Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceres);wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus); and some rarespecies (wild dog). All species populations believed to beseverely reduced.Incipient collaborative effort betweenProvincial Government of Huila andMINUA to establish management.Livestock grazing, poachingPoaching, humanencroachment, commercialfarming within park limits,illegal logging.Mupa 560,000 Mopane woodlands Established to conserve Angola’s Giraffe (Camelopardalisangolensis) believed to be extinct in wild. Speciespreviously present (black rhino, hippopotamus(Hippopotamus amphibious), eland, kudu, and predatorsbelieved to be locally extinct. Large sections believed tobe beyond recovery.Cameia 1,400,000 Extensive grasslands andperiodically inundatedgrasslandsHad large herds of migratory animals (wildebeest) andanimals adapted to flooded areas such as sitatunga(Tragelaphus spekei) and red lechwe (Kobus lechwe)among many others. All believed to be severely reduced.AbsentAbsentInvasion by refugees;poaching; humanencroachment; subsistenceagriculture; commercialfarming along the CuneneRiver; charcoal; logging.Poaching, humanencroachment, fires, anduncontrolled fishing.26 118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FOREST ASSESSMENT FOR ANGOLA
It is important to note that Angola’s protected area “system” does not include some ofthe most biodiverse ecosystems in Angola: the afro-montane cloud forests representedin the country’s highest points, such as the Morro do Moco in Huambo, and othersites in Bié Province. These residual patches are repository of a significant number ofbird and plant species endemic to Angola. They are severely threatened by burningand felling.The semi-deciduous humid forests of Angola’s northwestern highland (Uíge, CuanzaNorte, and Bengo) are also excluded from the country’s protected area system.Floristically, they are related to the Guineo-Congolian biome in what was Angola’scoffee producing area. These coffee plantations have been abandoned and nowsupport a healthy population of small antelopes, primates, and an impressive avifauna.The wildlife, primarily primates and antelopes, are under heavy hunting pressure aswitnessed by the large number of fresh carcasses and smoked game meat observed atroadside stalls.C2. Forests, Savannas, and WoodlandsC2a. GeneralAntelopes and primates thatescaped the period of warfare inAngola’s humid forests are nowunder hunting pressure, primarilyfor commercial purposes, asdocumented by the photograph inthe highlands of Bengo Province.In three decades of warfare, Angola experienced massive population movements fromrural areas to urban centers. IUCN’s mission in 1992 (IUCN 1992) reported that thevirtual depopulation of rural areas, save for certain zones in the Central Plateau,allowed the vegetation cover, rivers, and streams to recover in areas that were oncecultivated or used for livestock production. Poaching, however, had decimated animalpopulations in most of the country. On the other hand, the semi-arid and arid regionsin the country’s southwest, where the dominant production system is transhumantpastoralism, escaped this trend. In these areas the production systems remainedrelatively unaffected while the urban areas and transport network were destroyed.These pastoral systems were being compromised, however, by the implementation ofcattle ranches that interfered with migratory routes and access to water resources.Now, five years after the cessation of hostilities the situation remains much the same:healthy habitats virtually devoid of wild animals. The trends have not changedsubstantially, as predicted by the IUCN team; a result of the massive movement ofpeople to their original rural areas. Angola continues to be one of the most urbanized118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FOREST ASSESSMENT FOR ANGOLA 27
Page 7: ACRONYMSCITESConvention on Internat
Page 10 and 11: The country is divided into 18 prov
Page 12 and 13: A number of sector-specific legal i
Page 14 and 15: The Status and Trends of Tropical F
Page 16 and 17: exploitation of these resources and
Page 18 and 19: environmental consciousness of the
Page 21 and 22: SECTION A. INTRODUCTIONA1. Legal Re
Page 23: He has a master’s degree in envir
Page 26 and 27: stabilizing effect on the lower atm
Page 28 and 29: forests considered to be centers of
Page 30 and 31: A glance at Exhibit 5 reveals two i
Page 32 and 33: Exhibit 7. Simplified potential veg
Page 34 and 35: Exhibit 8. Angola’s population de
Page 36 and 37: Of note is the lack of follow-throu
Page 38 and 39: February 1955). This decree covered
Page 40 and 41: • Angola’s legal environmental
Page 42 and 43: • Angola’s institutional framew
Page 45: SECTION C. THE STATUS AND ECOLOGICA
Page 49 and 50: C3. Coastal and Marine SystemsC3a.
Page 51: indiscriminate hunting. Other negat
Page 54: Common Name Scientific Name StatusW
Page 57 and 58: D2c. Degradation of Coastal Ecosyst
Page 59 and 60: SECTION E. ACTIONS NECESSARY TO DEC
Page 61 and 62: areas or conservation, ownership st
Page 63: conservation activities in Angola:
Page 67: APPENDIX A. INDIVIDUALS INTERVIEWED
Page 70 and 71: significant discrepancies among the
Page 72 and 73: . An overview of the social, econom
Page 74 and 75: have knowledge of and be responsibl

118/119 Biodiversity and Tropical Forest Assessment for Angola

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