Environmental Restoration: An ecological project under development

ufv (52)in #ecology • 7 years ago

Hello! my Steemian friends!

Following the theme of my latest publications, I return to share a information on one related fact to the ecological effects produced by the intervention of man in the environment, of historical relevance. I am referring to The Gorongosa National Park, which has become a wonderful model of ecological restoration and sustainable development for the community. It is located in the central part of Mozambique in Africa, one of the poorest peoples in the world.

Entrance to the Park on Wikimedia
by Brian Dell. Permission: public domain

A little of history

Gorongosa was a park protected by the Portuguese government. By 1960, it had a varied and abundant wildlife that made it a paradise for hunting tourism of Hollywood celebrities such as Gregory Peck, Joan Crawford, John Wayne, among others, who visited its facilities.

In 1975, with the expulsion of the Portuguese government, a civil war in Mozambique was started that lasted 17 years. This conflict produced enormous damage to the country, numerous victims and almost the extermination of the fauna existing in the park. The large animals were exterminated by the poachers, who sold their skins and ivory to buy weapons.

In 1992, despite the signing of a peace agreement that brought an end to the civil conflict, deforestation and hunting did not decrease, causing a 90 percent reduction in wildlife.

In 1976, 6.000 elephants, 14.000 buffaloes and 500 lions lived in Gorongosa, but the first census after the armed struggle in 1994 barely recorded 100 elephants, 300 monkeys and half a dozen zebras.

Solforo.com

Greg Carr in 2012 by Cfbpc Wikipedia with GNU Free Documentation License

In 2004, after being left in oblivion for ten years, the businessman and philanthropist Gregory Carr created the Gorongosa Restoration Project and in 2008, together with the government of Mozambique, signed a 20-year agreement to begin the restoration of wildlife and the improvement of the life of the communities surrounding the national park . In this project would invest 30 million dollars and cover four areas: Ecotourism, Restoration and conservation of fauna and flora, scientific research and development of neighboring communities with the generation of employment, creation of schools, health care centers and the training of the inhabitants in different tasks for the work that would allow to substitute the activities directed to the felling of trees and the poaching of animals.

Consequences of modification of the environment

As always happens when the environment is altered, the ecosystem underwent important modifications.

The biologist E. O. Wilson, a member of the team of specialists, thinks that the park is in the Pleistocene which allows appreciating how the world was 20,000 years ago. The experienced researcher explains that after the war the communities of small animals such as insects and invertebrates remained practically intact, not so with the large animals which were almost completely exterminated.

When the herds of mammals disappeared, the vegetation of herbs and shrubs became denser and abundant as there was not a greater number of animals that fed on it. The forests also became denser because there were no elephants to tear down the trees to feed on their branches. The population of scavengers also decreased, as the carcasses of large mammals and their waste were reduced.

According to the biologist, in the course of ten years, the jungle reduced its extension by more than a third due to the felling of the large trees carried out by the peasants of the area for the cultivation of corn and potatoes and for the trade of the wood. This hinders the survival of the animals and modifies the environmental conditions of the place, affecting the capacity of the forest to maintain the humidity obtained from the rains and the water of the rivers that come down from the mountain, causing an aridity in the soil that makes less possible the life of the fauna and the inhabitants of the place.

A second chance

Favorable changes are still lower than expected, Gorongosa still has not returned to what it was before the war.

The restoration team reintroduced African elephants and buffaloes brought from South Africa, which are reproducing very quickly. It is also planned to reintroduce zebras and elands. The herds are seen again grazing on the savannahs. The great biodiversity of the past is returning little by little.

In the project facilities, buildings have been built to accommodate tourists and locals. This action is also being accompanied by a campaign that promotes ecotourism in the park, with the intention of attracting tourists and generating income and jobs for Mozambicans.

Pedro Muagura, director, and coordinator of the project's reforestation program. Credit: Meautoabastezco

The director and coordinator of the project's reforestation program, Pedro Muagura, is in charge of solving the problems caused by deforestation. Known as "The man who has planted more than a million trees" for his long history of planting trees in different places. His work consists of cultivating plants in the areas most affected by logging and burning and promoting respect for the environment among his countrymen.

In the search for new species

The group of project specialists organized an activity together with the inhabitants of the neighboring communities, specifically with the children, supervised by Dr. E. O. Wilson. This activity consisted in the collection of all kinds of animals in a specific area of the forest and at a certain time to then classify the species, known among biologists as BioBlitz. It aims to involve the community in the learning of fauna knowledge and encourage appreciation for wildlife. It could even serve as a stimulus for children who wish to study and become future scientists.

The results of the BioBlitz yielded a total of 60 species from 39 different families of ants, bees, beetles, reptiles, and amphibians.

The Gorongosa Park encompasses a wide variety of habitats, and even today it maintains an enormous biodiversity. It has found 398 species of birds (about 250 of which are residents), 122 of mammals, 34 of reptiles and 43 of amphibians, and probably have to discover tens of thousands of species of insects, arachnids, and other invertebrates.

nationalgeographic.com

For those who wish to observe the different species of fauna and flora that live in Gorongosa and the wonderful landscapes of the park, I invite you to visit the page of the National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore where you will find a gallery of excellent high quality and full-color photos.

Singular findings

The praiseworthy work of the group of researchers in Mozambique gave excellent results and after an exhaustive search of the area, they were able to find new species. In the new list were recorded: 47 species of reptiles, 182 species of birds, 33 species of frogs, 54 species of mammals, 100 species of ants, several species of crickets including one in the form of leaf missing since the nineteenth century and a significant number of beetles. They also found approximately 320 plants unknown until now.

A rare frog species was found and they named it Kassina. It has very exotic characteristics. It is black and silver and, apparently, it hasn't been seen anywhere in the global geography.

Kassina maculuata by Dawson on Wikimedia
with Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license

Another important finding was that of a species of furry bat of the family of Triaenops persicus, whose most outstanding feature is that it has three nostrils in its nose. For his resemblance to the character of Star War they called him Chewbacca and is a species that lives in Africa and South Asia. Their colonies are numerous and live in caves or in small bushes.

Chewbacca bat Triaenops persicus
foto: Piotr Naskrecki

An unusual genetic rarity observed in the elephants of the Park

Elephants use their tusks in different situations. They use them to defend themselves, to move trees, to feed themselves and to exhibit them when they need to mate. His tusks are an important part.

During the civil war that Mozambique lived, the herds of elephants were sacrificed almost entirely by poachers who sold their tusks to buy arms. Today, elephants born after the war are born without tusks or very small tusks.

Researchers and scientists who closely follow the development of these animals handle several theories. One of this theories deals with the idea that this phenomenon is due to the stress that the elephants were subjected to during the civil war which was recorded in his memory and was transmitted to their young, so they do not develop their tusks as a way to survival. Another theory is that after the war only the elephants with small tusks remained because they were not profitable for the hunters, so the female elephants that could reproduce had babies without tusks.

Joyce Poole, elephant researcher for more than 30 years and director of Elephant Voices, explains that there is a relationship between the degree of poaching and the number of female elephants born without tusks in the herds she had observed in his investigations. Therefore the offspring of these elephants are more likely to be born without tusks.

I agree with this last theory!

The flocks developed this characteristic of small or nonexistent tusks as a result of their adaptation to the hostile environment in which they lived, which offers them greater opportunities to survive. This is evidence that man's intervention on the environment or directly on life forms can severely alter them.

By LadyofHats with permission of public domain in Wikimedia

I believe that these initiatives should be widely known. We must make a great recognition to the work done by these excellent professionals, who with dedication and work ethics, dedicate their lives to correct the negative consequences of the wrong actions committed by man in the environment. It is a brief comment on each of the aspects that seemed important to me. Gorongosa looks like a magical place, with abundant biodiversity that must be preserved.

To finish this publication I would like to share a myth known to all Mozambicans that explains why the mountain of Gorongosa is considered a sacred mountain. After this, you will find a wise phrase of Dr. E. O. Wilson that invites us to reflection.

Happy day and many thanks for your valuable time my dears friends!

The myth of the creation of his people and the reason why they consider that this mountain is sacred.

In ancient times, God lived with his people on the mountain. In those times humans were >giants and were not afraid to ask God for special favors. When there was a drought, they said, "Give us water." Tired of >his constant demands, the Creator went to live in heaven. But the giants climbed to the top of the mountain to >continue making claims. In the end, to put them in their place, God decided to belittle them. Since then life has >become much more difficult.

nationalgeographic.com

Gorongosa_-_Gogogo_peak._(4403966914).jpg

Gogogo mountain by Ton Rulkens with Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license in Flickr.

"The next 50 years are the decisive years for humanity and nature. We will make the decision to maintain nature or eliminate it."

Dr. E.O. Wilson.

Until a next publication!