Congo-Zambezi Transboundary Nature Reserve
At a good time, it is possible to congratulate the completion following the conclusion of the procedures for declaring the KAZA Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. On March 15 (2012) the reserve was officially launched. Ashkaz will be one of the most beautiful and interesting large reserves in the world in general and in Africa in particular.
Over the years I have visited the different parts of the new reserve, each time in a different part. Now it is all one reserve that crosses borders and if you dedicate time to it, it can be visited in one trip.
At the top of the mountains in Angola, seasonal rains fall, which form the source of the Okavango River. The river flows through Namibia to the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and carves out one of the largest alluvial fans in the world, The Okavango fan constitutes a dead-end basin whose size is between 20 and 40 thousand square kilometers. The fan is an oasis, growing and shrinking according to the seasons. In ditches and seasonal lakes, species of trees, shrubs, and aquatic plants grow. The water and the wealth of vegetation provide a living space for hundreds of species of birds, fish and mammals that schedule their activities according to the seasons and according to the size of the oasis, the visitor to Okongo feels as if he has arrived in paradise.
When I first arrived in the Okavango, although I was not satisfied with the sights, I continued north to the Chuba Reserve on the banks of the Chuba River which borders Botswana and the Namibian Caprivi.
The reserve boasts the largest herds of elephants in Africa (about 150,000). Dozens of families - hundreds of individuals go down to the river and swim across it towards agricultural fields where they cause damage and of course the farmers harass them. The Choba River joins the Zambezi which spills out at Victoria Falls.
The largest waterfalls in Africa and the largest in the world are found partly in Zambia and partly in Zimbabwe. The area around the waterfalls is a nature reserve and many people visit it. For me it was a "must" despite the hassle of crossing borders for the most part.
Far to the west of Victoria Falls, the Etosha Reserve stretches over about 20 square kilometers, which I arrived at separately (since again it is in another country).
Atosha Reserve
http://www.google.co.il/search?q=etosha+national+park&hl=iw&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=zN9yT_SnHMTf4QTwzMChDw&ved=0CGIQsAQ&biw=1253&bih=683
The Etosha Reserve in Namibia is considered one of the most important reserves in Africa. Huge salt marshes that sometimes turn into shallow lakes that attract thousands of pink flamingos. Around the salt marshes or lakes there are sparse groves with a wide variety of reptiles, birds and mammals and of course the attention is drawn by the "big five" - elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, tigers and buffaloes that every visitor feels obliged to see, therefore even though Namibia offers diverse landscapes and unique reserves in Etosha.
The four reserves are only the largest and more famous, and they form the backbone of about 36 reserves at different levels of management and conservation that are spread among five countries: Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, today all of them together form a "cross-border conservation area" spread over about -300 thousand square kilometers.
After discussions that lasted for many years, the practical meetings and discussions began, and in December 2008, the ministers of the five countries decided on the establishment of the reserve, with the budgetary backing of European countries and "non-governmental" organizations that contribute budgets and knowledge.
In many days, the reserve will be an economic business that benefits from tourism, but in the background of the declaration of the reserve, the intention is to preserve and protect African species (mainly elephants) from extinction at the hands of hunters as well as due to the reduction of habitats. Together with the elephants in the Chuba reserve, about 300 thousand elephants will receive protection, which make up almost half of Africa's elephant population. The reserve will also allow the protection of groves and forests from being cut down - mainly for the coal industry, as well as the protection of water sources that are damaged by the construction of dams, damage to drainage areas and industrial pollution.
To enable the establishment of the reserve local residents are partners in the project who are supposed to be the main beneficiaries of tourism in the area, a profit that will allow the locals to be convinced of the importance of conservation. The presence of animals near settlements, especially elephants, causes friction between the farmers and the animals. Recently, the use of hot pepper that is anointed on fences, as well as the placement of beehives as "elephant repellents", has been developing. Hot pepper growing is a new and profitable industry. Taking care of beehives is also a profitable industry and thus success in preventing damage and profit from tourism will allow balance and closeness between farmers and animals.
With the exception of Angola (and recently Zimbabwe), the participating countries are known to be successful in tourism in general and environmental (ecological) tourism in particular. The launch of the reserve promises to stimulate the economy in areas where there is already tourism activity, and to provide a basis for the development of environmental tourism in other areas.
More than 600 species of birds were observed in all areas of Ashkaz. Hundreds of mammals and birds will be able to move freely in the reserve. Research birders (ornithologists), nature lovers and Africa lovers note that "Ashkaz, which contains the most beautiful sights in Africa, is an important achievement for the preservation of nature on the continent and in the region".
This is a warm recommendation for anyone who has the sights of nature close to their heart, for anyone who has already been to other reserves in Africa, a warm recommendation to visit a "reserve that embraces borders", to visit at least a small part of Ashkaz
KAZA Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.
I will add and recommend that we should learn from Africa and in conjunction with Jordan, declare the southern Jordan region, the Dead Sea and the Arabah as a transboundary nature reserve.
One response
Stunning