https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=273 Numéros en texte intégral fr Fri, 19 Jan 2024 11:20:49 +0100 Fri, 19 Jan 2024 11:20:49 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=273 0 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=800 Tue, 30 Jan 2024 11:43:59 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=800 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1498 Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:25:54 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1498 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1499 Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:26:27 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1499 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1500 Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:26:57 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1500 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1513 Le Parc National de l'Akagera (PNA) et le Parc National des Volcans (PNV) constituent les principales aires protégées du Rwanda. A la suite de la guerre civile qui ensanglante ce pays depuis le début des années quatre-vingt dix, le destin des deux parcs a divergé. Le PNV, voué à la conservation d'une des dernières populations de gorilles de montagne et de leur habitat avait retrouvé début 1996 une situation équivalente à celle d'avant-guerre malgré la perte de quelques gorilles. Le PNA par contre fut envahi par,d'immenses troupeaux de bovins domestiques, entraînant une sérieuse atteinte à son intégrité. li est à craindre que les deux tiers du parc soient sacrifiés, tandis que le tiers restant demeure menacé. L'âge d'or de cette aire protégée semble toucher à sa fin, 63 ans après sa création. Mais c'est le devoir des conservationnistes de ne jamais laisser tomber les bras… The Akagera National Park (ANP) and the Volcano National Park (VNP) are the main protected areas in Rwanda. Following civil war that bloodstained the country since 1990, the destiny of these two parks diverged. The VNP, dedicated to the conservation of one of the last population of mountain gorillas and of their habitat, recovered somehow the same situation as before the war despite some gorillas were lost. The ANP, on the other hand, has been invaded by large herds of domestic cattle, which resulted in serious injuries at its integrity. It seems that two-thirds of the park are on the way to be sacrificed and will be devoted to human and cattle settlement. The fate of the remaining third is still undecided. About 63 years after the park was created. the golden era of this protected area of international reputation seems close to an end. But it is the conservationists' duty to carry on. Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:27:38 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1513 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1519 The area referred to as Virunga Volcanoes Region (VVR) is that part in Central Africa covered by three protected areas in three countries. These protected areas, currently managed as national parks are : Parc National des Volcans (PNV, 160 km2) in Rwanda, Parc National des Virungas (PNVi, 240 km2) in Democratic Republic of Congo) and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (MGNP, 33.7 km2) in Uganda. Parc National des Virunga was Africa's first national park gazetted in 1925 and it was later reclassified as a World Heritage Site because of its internationally recognized unique natural and cultural sites. Straddling the international boundaries of the three countries, the Virunga Volcanoes Region has no physical demarcation along the borders and free ranging animals within the area are transient between the different neighboring countries. Of notable significance, the region harbors the rare and endangered mountain gorilla, Gorilla gorilla beringei whose total population worldwide is approximately 600 animals. Slightly less than 50 % of these are within the Virunga Volcanoes Region (Butynski, T.M., S.E. Werikhe and J. Kalina, 1990). The other population is found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. For a long time, only the Virunga Volcanoes portions of Rwanda and Congo were managed as national parks. Until 1991, the Ugandan portion was managed as a Forest and Game Reserve (Werikhe, 1991). The creation of MGNP six years ago elevated its level of protection and matched it with the other two national parks in the region. This was a significant breakthrough in support of conservation and it now seems certain that the three countries recognize the importance and urgent need to safeguard the mountain gorilla and its habitat. The Virunga Volcanoes Region protects a large number of plant and animal species endemic to the Albertine Rift. This valuable biological diversity with a high level of endemism is related to the long natural evolution and tormented geological and volcanic history during the Plio-Pleistocene era (D'Huart, 1989). Human population density in the region is considerably high. At a population density averaging 300 people/km2, there is enormous pressure onto these protected areas for livelihood needs especially fertile land for agriculture, fuel wood , construction wood, coffee plantations, food and lots of other forest products. The conservation policies in place have therefore been designed to address the above pressures but also to ensure a balanced situation with the adjacent people for enhanced protection and continued existence of the resource. The region is well known for its very high tourism potential exhibited by presence of mountain gorillas, other taxa and impressive scenery. Sorne groups of gorillas have been habituated to human presence and are currently viewed by tourists, fetching a fair amount of revenue to the three countries. The substantial amounts of money generated by tourism are used by the Rwanda, Congo and Uganda's Wildlife institutions of Office Rwandais du Tourisme et Parcs Nationaux (ORTPN), Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), respectively, to manage conservation activities in the Virunga Volcanoes. During the late 1990s, a civil war was waged onto the Rwanda Government and this is reported to have started from the Mutara Region, Rwanda. Launching war from the Mutara was detrimental to conservation because of its location in the Virunga Volcanoes Region. Over the years, the war advanced slowly into deeper regions of Rwanda until 1994 when the Rwandese Patriotic Front took over power. This saw over 700,000 refugees fleeing Rwanda to North Kivu District, Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, for sanctuary. The effects of this war on conservation in the region we re directly felt for about seven years since the war broke. They were most seriously felt when refugees camped in or near protected areas and utilized resources there in with impunity. Other negative effects included loss of lives among protected area staff, destruction of wildlife species and of their habitat, breakdown in communication, destruction of infrastructure, halt on tourism activities, and above all, complete degeneration in staff work effectiveness due to insecurity. Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:28:31 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1519 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1532 Les volcans Virunga abritent l'une des deux seules populations de gorilles de montagne, Gorilla gorilla beringei, ainsi qu'une biodiversité remarquablement riche, typique des écosystèmes de forêts afro-montagnardes. Cette zone de conservation, d'une surface approximative de 400 km2, est partagée par trois pays : le Rwanda, l'Ouganda et la République Démocratique du Congo. L'ensemble de la région a été secoué par plusieurs années de troubles, lesquels ont eu des répercussions négatives sur l'environnement et les aires protégées. Le moment est sans doute venu de proposer des solutions contribuant au maintien à long terme de la biodiversité. Cet article analyse les potentialités de création d'un Parc pour la Paix qui comprendrait le Parc National des Volcans au Rwanda, le secteur Mikeno du Parc National des Virunga en République Démocratique du Congo, ainsi que Mgahinga Gorilla National Park en Ouganda. L'article commence par passer en revue les initiatives de collaboration des autorités officielles en charge des aires protégées des trois pays. Plus spécifiquement, l'expérience du Programme International de Conservation des Gorilles (PTCG) est décrite et proposée comme fondation sur laquelle des mécanismes officiels de coopération entre les trois pays peuvent être construits. La création d'un Parc pour la Paix dans les Virunga permettrait d'atteindre un double objectif, l'un en termes de conservation de la biodiversité et l'autre sur le plan politico-diplomatique. L' article ensuite décrit et analyse les contraintes et les obstacles qui doivent être contournés. Ces obstacles comprennent: la communication, les différences de systèmes de gestion et d'administration, les formalités d'immigration, ainsi que la situation de la sécurité dans la région en général et dans les Virunga en particulier. On décrit ensuite le cadre institutionnel de chaque pays, ainsi que le rôle potentiel des traités internationaux dans le développement d'un parc pour la paix, te s que la Convention sur le Patrimoine Mondial (UNESCO) ou encore la Convention sur la Diversité Biologique. On propose un plan stratégique chronologique, au terme duquel le Parc pour la Paix des Virunga serait mis en place. Enfin, l'article considère les aspects liés au financement des structures du parc pour la paix, et propose une série de possibilités, comprenant des sources traditionnelles de financement ou le développement d'un ou de plusieurs « trust funds ». The Virunga Volcanos are home to one of the two only populations of mountain gorillas, Gorilla gorilla beringei, as well as to a remarkably rich biological diversity typical of afromontane forest habitats. This conservation area, covering approx imately 400 km2, is shared by three countries : Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo (formely Zaïre, DRC). The region has undergone a number of years of civil strife with the associated negative repercussions on the environment and protected areas. The moment has come to propose solutions contributing to the long-term maintenance of this rich biodiversity. This article analyses the potential for the creation of a Peace Park encompassing the Parc National des Volcans in Rwanda, the Mikeno sector of the Parc National des Virunga in DRC and the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. At first, this article reviews of past initiatives aiming to bring together the official protected area authorities in the three countries. In particular, the experiences of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) are described and proposed as the groundwork on which more official mechanisms for collaboration between the three countries can be founded. The creation of a Peace Park in the Virungas would fulfill a double series of objectives, both in terms of biodiversity conservation and at the political and diplomatic level. The constraints and obstacles that necessarily must be faced are described and analyzed. These include problems linked to communication, different management and administration systems, immigration formalities, the security situation in the region in general and in the Virunga massif in particular, etc. The institutional framework is described for each country, as well as the potential for the intervention of international treaties, such as the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO) or the Biodiversity Convention in the development of a Peace Park. A phased strategic plan is proposed, the outcome of which would be the constitution of a Peace Park for the Virungas. Finally, aspects related to financing of the proposed structures are considered, and a series of funding possibilities, including traditional funding sources, as well as the potential development of one or more « trust funds ». Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:40:01 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1532 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1541 En 1990, le Parc National de l'Akagera (PNA) au Rwanda couvrait 250 000 ha et comprenait un écosystème terrestre et un écosystème aquatique. Son écosystème terrestre couvrait 234 000 ha, dont 34 000 ha étaient situés dans le Domaine de Chasse du Mutara. Depuis sa mise en réserve, en 1934, il avait subi d'importantes variations de superficies. En 1997, le PNA a été réduit à 100 000 ha et son écosystème terrestre à 50 000 ha. Dans sa configuration de 1990, il abritait une grande variété de paysages : des collines abruptes, des hauts plateaux, des plaines inondables et une vaste pénéplaine ondulée (le Mutara). Sa superficie était couverte pour 60 % de savanes arbustives ou arborescentes à Acacia-Combretum, 25 % de savanes boisées à Acacia-Albizia et 15 % de savanes herbeuses à Loudetia, à Themeda Hyparrhenia ou à Botriochloa-Sporobolus. L'ensemble était soumis à d'importants gradients climatiques, tant quantitatifs que temporels. La pluviosité annuelle moyenne variait ainsi de 650 mm à près de 900 mm et la petite saison sèche de janvier-février était souvent mieux marquée dans le nord que dans le sud. Bien qu'il semblait absolument sauvage, cet écosystème avait supporté dans le passé d'importantes populations humaines, qui avaient été éliminées ou évincées en grande partie par les épidémies de la fin du siècle dernier et par les mesures successives de mise en réserve. Les observations et études effectuées entre 1969 et 1990 montrent que cet écosystème a subi d'importants changements. Sa végétation, malgré les feux fréquents, s'est fermée en beaucoup d'endroits et le régime des feux a été lui-même modifié. Les changements les plus importants sont toutefois liés aux modifications successives des limites et à l'éviction de populations humaines. Sur le plan des ongulés, les quelques estimations disponibles montrent une nette augmentation de la plupart des populations depuis la création du parc jusqu'en 1990. Etant un écosystème fermé, celle-ci ne repose que sur des phénomènes internes. Dans une première phase (1934-1970), elle représente probablement essentiellement un rétablissement après l'épidémie de peste bovine de 1932 et une réaction à la création du parc. Dans une seconde phase (1970-1990), elle doit être mise en relation avec l'éviction de populations humaines du Mutara. Celle-ci a en effet considérablement étendu la superficie des pâturages de saison sèche en mettant à la disposition des ongulés 40 000 ha de savanes parmi les moins arides et les plus ouvertes de l'écosystème. Toutes les espèces n'ont cependant pas réagi de la même manière. L' éland du Cap et le phacochère ont décliné, mais la plupart des espèces sédentaires ont augmenté de 20 à 40 % et les espèces transhumantes de 90 à 200 %. Cette forte augmentation s'est accompagnée de changements dans la distribution, dans les voies de transhumances et, pour le topi et l'impala, dans les structures sociales. Les topis, notamment, ont développé des leks itinérants. Seule l'augmentation des buffles semble indépendante de la libération du Mutara. L'hippopotame aussi a décliné, mais probablement pour des raisons de braconnage sur la frontière tanzanienne. L'évolution des voies de transhumance est nettement corrélée avec les gradients climatiques. Dans l'ensemble, cette rétrospective montre comment les ongulés transhumants réagissent plus vite que les sédentaires aux modifications de l'écosystème, comment certaines espèces sont capables d'adapter leurs stratégies malgré un certain attachement à des aires traditionnelles et comment la recherche des meilleurs pâturages reste pour ces espèces un facteur essentiel dans la détermination de leur répartition. Elle laisse entrevoir comment la faune du PNA a pu survivre durant des périodes historiques difficiles et comment elle pourra éventuellement s'adapter à la réduction de la superficie et à l'isolement du parc. Elle montre aussi tout le poids des influences anthropiques dans les écosystèmes de savane, alors que la plupart des études réalisées entre 1965 et 1990 ne les avaient pas prises en considération. In 1990, the Akagera National Park (PNA) in eastern Rwanda covered an area of 250,000 ha, and harboured both a terrestrial and an aquatic ecosystem. Its terrestrial ecosystem covered 234,000 ha, 34,000 ha of which were situated in the Mutara Hunting Area. Since the park became gazetted in 1934, its limits have undergone important variations, however, and in 1997, following the 1990-1994 war, it was reduced to 100,000 ha and its terrestrial ecosystem to a mere 50,000 ha. In its 1990 configuration, it comprised a wide variety of landscapes : rugged hills, high plateaux, floodplains and the extensive undulating plains of the Mutara region. It was covered for 60 % by Acacia-Combretum bushed and wooded grasslands, for 25 % by Acacia-Albizia woodlands and for 15 % by Loudetia, Themeda-Hyparrhenia or Botriochloa-Sporobolus open grasslands. The whole system was submitted to important, both quantitative and temporal, climatic gradients : the mean annual rainfall was ranging from 650 mm to nearly 900 mm, and the short dry season of January-February was more pronounced in the north than in the south. Despite its untouched aspect, this ecosystem had supported important human populations in the past. These had been eliminated or pushed out by epidemic diseases at the end of the last century and by conservation measures. Studies and observations in between 1969 and 1990 showed that this ecosystem had undergone important changes. Its vegetation, despite frequent burning, became much more closed in many areas and the fire regime itself was altered, but the most important changes have been the successive modifications of its limits and the removal of human population. Regarding the ungulates, the few existing population estimates show a definite in crease of most species, not only just after the establishment of the national park, but also between 1969 and 1990. The ecosystem being closed and isolated, these changes were relying on local processes. During a first phase (1934-1970), they corresponded most probably to a rebuilding of the populations after the rinderpest epidemic of 1932, favoured by the creation of the national park. During a second phase (1970-1990), they were paralleling the removal of the human populations of the northern part of the park and of the Mutara Hunting Area. These measures extended the area of dry season pastures with about 40,000 ha of grasslands, among the less arid and the most open of the whole ecosystem. All species didn't respond in the same way, however. While the Cape Eland and the Warthog declined, most sedentary species increased by 20-40 % and the migrating species by 90-200 %. This strong increase went together with changes in distribution, in migration routes and, in the case of topi and impala, also in social structures. The topi e.g. developed moving leks, similar to those of the wildebeest. Only the increase of buffalo was probably independent from the better availability of the Mutara grasslands. The hippopotamus has decreased, but mainly because of poaching along the Tanzanian border. The evolution of migration routes is definitely correlated to the climatic gradients. This overview illustrates how migrating ungulates react more rapidly than sedentary species to ecosystem changes ; how some species are able to adapt their distribution despite some attachment to traditional home-ranges and territories, and how the distribution of species is mainly regulated by the availability of pastures. It gives some highlighting of how the ungulate populations of the Akagera National Park have survived difficult historic periods, and how they will adapt to the area reduction and increased isolation of the park. Finally it also shows the enormous importance of human influences on savanna ecosystems, while most studies made between 1965 and 1990 never mentioned this aspect. Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:40:34 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1541 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1550 Created in 1934 in Eastern Rwanda, the Akagera National Park (ANP) has been the scene o f two introductions and one reintroduction of large ungulates. Two male and four female black rhinoceros, a species which never lived before in the ANP but was present in Tanzania, beyond the river Akagera matching approximately the international border and working as a biogeographical barrier, were introduced in 1957 ; these animals reproduced and spread over the whole savanna. Their real number was never accurately known as the y were regularly poached by Rwandeses and Tanzanians. About ten specimens were still living before the Rwandese war and at least four at the end of 1996. The last elephants living in the ANP were noticed in 1960-61 before the species was reintroduced in 1975. The government had decided to eradicate a population of some 150 individuals causing trouble to peasants in the Bugesera ; all large, aged animais were shot whereas 25 young ones were transferred into the ANP, where they settled in the lakes border zone. There were 45 individuals before the war and these seem to have escaped from damages. The giraffe is considered a species never living for historical times in the area presently known as ANP. A personal deal between the president of Kenya and the former president of Rwanda resulted in the introduction in 1986 of six young animals – two males and four females - in order to improve the park diversity and attractiveness. Scientists were reluctant. The animals reproduced, extended their home range, and their numbers grow up : they resisted the war and some 20 individuals were still living in December 1997. The reintroduction in the ANP of the elephant from a Rwandese population was legitimous. The introduction of the black rhinoceros was questionable. The introduction of giraffes had no biological justification and was opposed by scientists : they were sure that the operation would be a wreckage. Paradoxically, it is thanks to the presence of giraffes that the new governmental authorities decided it was worth preserving 100 000 ha of the park, considering that the giraffe investment had to be saved. Non-scientific arguments succeeded where biological ones had not… Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:42:50 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1550 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1555 La région des Monts Kouffé est un ensemble de trois forêts classées dans la partie centrale du Bénin ; ce sont les forêts classées de Wari Maro (107 500 ha), des Monts Kouffé (180 300 ha) et d'Agoua (75 300 ha). Cette région est particulièrement riche en flore et en faune, mais ne dispose malheureusement d'aucun plan d'aménagement. Le présent dénombrement de la faune est un des volets d'étude préliminaire à la mise en application d'un plan de gestion rationnelle de ses ressources naturelles. La méthode de dénombrement utilisée est celle des transects linéaires à pied, qui a l'avantage de fournir assez d'informations sur la richesse de la grande faune tout en induisant moins de biais dans les résultats. Des trois forêts classées de la zone d'inventaire, c'est l'ensemble Wari Maro - Monts Kouffé qui est encore assez riche en ongulés et en oiseaux. La biomasse totale des espèces animales étudiées est de 250,3 kg/km2 dans la forêt classée des Monts Kouffé, de 176,4 kg/km2 dans celle de Wari Maro et de 20 kg/km2 dans celle d'Agoua qui est la plus dégradée en raison de l'occupation concurrente par les agriculteurs. Une enquête auprès des chasseurs riverains de l'ensemble Wari Maro - Monts Kouffé révèle que les taux de prélèvement par les braconniers sont supérieurs aux taux spécifiques d'accroissement naturel des espèces animales recensées, excepté chez le buffle Syncerus caffer brachyceros. Aussi, la disparition de certaines espèces serait imminente si ce prélèvement anarchique continuait dans les prochaines années ou décennies. Par contre, une meilleure protection de la faune et de son habitat, suivie d'une gestion planifiée et d'un aménagement rationnel, pourront remédier à ce danger, tout en rentabilisant les ressources naturelles de cette région à forte diversité biologique. The Monts Kouffé forest reserve is a contiguous entity of three protected areas in the central part of Benin Republic : the Wari Maro forest reserve (107,500 ha), the Monts Kouffé forest reserve (180,300 ha) and the Agoua forest reserve (75,300 ha). The Monts Kouffé protected areas are particularly rich in plant and wildlife species but very few had been collected there in order to set up a management plan. This study on wild mammals abundance census in the Monts Kouffé's region is one of the basic studies required before carrying out resources management in this area. The census method used is the « line-transect survey » which is the best one for tropical savanna, as it provides most information on animal population abundance and structure with reliable census results. Total biomass of mammals species censused was 250.3 kg/km2 in Monts Kouffé forest reserve, 76.4 kg/km2 in Wari Maro forest reserve and 20 kg/km2 in Agoua forest reserve which suffered most of the damage due to land cleaning by farmers. Even in Monts Kouffé and Wari Maro forest reserves, harvest quotas of ungulate species by local hunters (poachers) exceeded the recruitment of ungulate species, except for buffalo Syncerus caffer brachyceros. Sorne species are endangered because of poaching in the Wari Maro and Monts Kouffé Forest reserves, or of habitat degradation as it is the case in the Agoua forest reserve. These endangered species may become extinct unless an efficient management program is implemented in the Monts Kouffé protected areas. Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:45:36 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1555 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1568 In the Republic of Congo, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are in a very critical situation. mainly due to the destruction of their habitat and to poaching. Situated in the south of the country, the Faunal Reserve of Conkouati (144 000 ha) hosts, since 1991, a sanctuary for orphan chimpanzees managed by the H.E.L.P. Project (« Habitat Ecologique et Liberté des Primates ») and Mrs Alielle Jamart. She had created a nursery in Pointe-Noire, in 1989, which has been moved two years later in Conkouati Laguna, where the government allocated three islands to the association, now recognized as an N.G.O. During our stay (February to July 1996), the project took charge of 44 chimpanzees and a few other primates. Most ot them (31) were ranging half- freely on the islands, the last 13 forming the new nursery. Though not self-sufficient, these animals are well-readapted to their natural environment. The purpose of this project is to protect chimps and help them to return to a wild habitat. An adequate zone (The Triangle) has been delimited to try a release of some individuals, under scientific and veterinary monitoring. At present, there have been two « positive » attempts, but more time is needed to claim these are really successful. Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:47:59 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1568 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1577 Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:48:27 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1577 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1583 Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:49:04 +0100 https://popups.lib.uliege.be/2984-0317/index.php?id=1583