Shea Tree
Biodiversity is also critical for local
livelihoods in the Kidepo critical landscape. The Shea tree
(Vitellaria paradoxa) collected from the wild, for example,
is a primary source of edible fruit, local cooking oil and medicine
for most people in this landscape, The Shea butter extracted from
the seed kernel is used for local cooking, and as an input in
cosmetics pharmaceutical and confectionery industries.
Vitellaria paradoxa is listed on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. The Shea tree also has several
biodiversity benefits. It is fire resistant and
resilient, two important elements in maintaining the health
of the savanna ecosystem. Shea trees provide the only tree-cover in
an area that is covered with sparse vegetation, mostly grassland,
and highly susceptible to desertification. Yet the Shea tree is
often the only tree that survives, growing through its allotted
lifespan, 400 years or more. And it does so naturally without need
for irrigation, fertilizer, or pesticides in some of the most
challenging inhabited sites on earth. Last but not least, the trees
are a natural carbon sinks and therefore contribute to global
climate change mitigation.
The biodiversity of the Kidepo landscape faces
growing threats:
-
Wildlife
Poaching: Enforcement in the Kidepo critical landscape is currently
too weak to deal with armed poachers from politically unstable
southern Sudan, and poaching is a growing problem. Government's
efforts to reintroduce rhinos (and other species that have become
locally extinct) have also been hampered by weak security. Game
sanctuaries and controlled hunting areas have hitherto provided
very limited wildlife and habitat protection. Fire is also a
serious problem in the PAs-originating by production activities in
the surrounding landscape. There is no fire management system
currently in place.
-
Unsustainable
use of natural resources: Returnees with no farms to return to are
resorting to charcoal production as a quick source of income.
Hardwoods, like the Shea tree, are especially popular because they
produce heavy charcoal that burns for a long time and produces
strong heat. Regulations to control harvest are not yet in place
and the community byelaws that existed before the war have long
been disregarded.
-
Infrastructure
Placement: - The Government is in the process of resettling former
IDPs. Without biodiversity considerations being integrated into
resettlement plans, there is potential for new settlements and
infrastructure to be built in ecologically important migratory
corridors and routes. The fast expansion of the agricultural
activities by the returnees also has potential to convert vast
areas of land into a use that is incompatible with biodiversity
conservation objectives. There is an urgent need for integrated
land-use planning and management at a landscape level, and
protected area strategies that address seasonal movements of
wildlife in relation to food and water availability and maintaining
vital migration routes.
