Omo National Park | |
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Location | Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia |
Nearest city | Jinka |
Coordinates | 6°0′N35°50′E / 6.000°N 35.833°E |
Area | 4,068 km2 (1,571 sq mi) |
Omo National Park is a national park in Ethiopia founded in 1980. Located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region on the west bank of the Omo River, the park covers approximately 4,068 square kilometers, about 870 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa; across the Omo is the Mago National Park and the Tama Wildlife Reserve. Although an airstrip was recently built near the park headquarters on the Mui River, this park is not easily reachable; the Lonely Planet guide Ethiopia and Eritrea describes Omo National Park as "Ethiopia's most remote park." [1]
Omo National Park is located on the west bank of the Omo River in the lower Omo Valley. The park is 140 km long, stretching from the Neruze River in the south to the Sharum plain in the north, and up to 60 km wide where the Park Headquarters are situated. Major land features include the Omo River on the east, the Maji Mountains, the Sharum, and Sai plains to the north and west, and the Illibai plains and Dirga Hills to the south. [2] There are three hot springs, and the park is crossed by some rivers, all of which drain into the Omo. The Mui River crosses the middle of the park before joining the Omo River. Much of the park is at 800m but the southern part by the Neruze River drops to 450 m. The highest peak of Maji Mountains which is located within the park is 1,541 m above sea level. [3]
The vegetation of Omo National Park is mostly open savannah, thickets, and riverine woodland that lies near the western banks of the Omo River. Species include Ficus sycomorus , Tapura fischeri , Melanodiscus oblongus , Celtis integrifolia , Trichilia roka , Cordia sinensis , Acacia mellifera , and Ziziphus mauritiana . [4]
The park offers excellent opportunities to view wildlife with 73 species of mammals and 312 species of birds.
Omo National Park is home to large herds of buffalos, zebras, elands, beisa oryxes, tiangs, Lelwel hartebeests, dik-diks, bushbucks, reedbucks, and Grant's gazelles. Other mammals that are elusively rare to find include elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, bushpigs, African wild dogs, giraffes, oribis, klipspringers, greater kudus, hyenas, black rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, and warthogs. [5] Primates such as the Mantled guerezas, Olive baboons, and De Brazza monkeys also live within forested areas.
Bird species of this park consist of ostriches, eagles, egrets, herons, barbets, honeyguides, kingfishers, Secretary birds, woodpeckers, parrots, shrikes, and weavers also thrived here. [6]
Omo national park is also home to nile crocodiles, Black mambas, African spurred tortoises, Black-necked spitting cobras, Rhombic Night Adder, puff adders, and rock pythons that are common here. [7] [8]
The lower reaches of the Omo river were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, after the discovery (in the Omo Kibish Formation) of the earliest known fossil fragments of Homo sapiens , which have been dated circa 195,000 years old.
There is virtually no tourist infrastructure within the park and little support for travelers. It was reported in 1999 that none of the tourist agencies within or outside Ethiopia would arrange tours in the park. [9] The Walta Information Center announced on 3 October 2006 that US$1 million had been allocated to construct "roads and recreational centers as well as various communication facilities" with the intent to attract more visitors. [10]
The Mursi, Suri, Nyangatom, Dizi, and Me'en are reported in danger of displacement and/or denial of access to their traditional grazing and agricultural land. This follows the demarcation of the Park boundaries in November 2005, and the recent management takeover of the park by African Parks. [11] This process threatens to make the Omo people illegal squatters on their land. [12]
There are reports that these tribal peoples have been coerced into signing documents they could not read by Park officials. [13]
In October 2008, African Parks announced they were giving up the management of the Omo National Park and leaving Ethiopia. AP stated that sustainable management of the Ethiopian parks is incompatible with 'the irresponsible way of living of some of the ethnic groups. The organization has trouble dealing with the indigenous population trying to continue its traditional way of life within the park borders. [14]
The Omo River in southern Ethiopia is the largest Ethiopian river outside the Nile Basin. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and it empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya. The river is the principal stream of an endorheic drainage basin, the Turkana Basin.
The Mursi are a Surmic ethnic group in Ethiopia. They principally reside in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region, close to the border with South Sudan. According to the 2007 national census, there are 11,500 Mursi, 848 of whom live in urban areas; of the total number, 92.25% live in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR).
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Mago National Park is a national park in Ethiopia located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region about 782kilometers south of Addis Ababa and north of a large 90° bend in the Omo River, the 2162 square kilometers of this park are divided by the Mago River, a tributary of the Omo, into two parts. To the west is the Tama Wildlife Reserve, with the Tama river defining the boundary between the two. To the south is the Murle Controlled Hunting Area, distinguished by Lake Dipa which stretches along the left side of the lower Omo. The park office is 115kilometers north of Omorate and 26kilometers southwest of Jinka. All roads to and from the park are unpaved.
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Maji is a woreda in South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region, Ethiopia. Part of the West Omo zone, Maji is bordered on the south by the Kibish River which separates it from South Sudan, on the west by Surma, on the northwest by Bero, on the north by Meinit Shasha, and on the east by the Omo River which separates it from the Debub Omo Zone. Towns in Maji include Tum and Maji. The western part of Maji was separated to create Bero woreda and some southern kebeles were added to Nyangatom woreda.
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