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Under Siege
Environment Africa
Cleveland Newsletter, June 2003

For decades, nature lovers have visited the little known and unspoilt Haka game park on the Cleveland catchment area. The wetlands, grasslands and miombo woodlands that make up the park provide a rich habitat for bird, insect, mammal and reptile life as well as playing host to rare FUNGI, mosses and lichens.

While the wider catchment area has been degraded of most of its tree cover over the past five years, up until now the park itself, guarded by its electric fence, has remained a relatively safe island of tranquility and species diversity.

However, the chills of winter, coupled with a huge energy crisis in overpopulated neighbouring areas have recently led to a sustained assault on the park's trees leading to a full-scale crisis.

The eastern side of the park has been most affected. People, reportedly from Epworth where paraffin is scarce and no trees remain, come at night using saws and axes cut not only dead branches but also whole live trees down. Some of which were more than 50 years old.

Investigations revealed that one tree alone had 11 nesting birds in it. These birds would typically have nested in the same tree year after year. It is doubtful that they will find another suitable location in time to produce young this year.

In addition to this the illegal tree cutters then strip young saplings of their bark just to tie the bundles up. This act alone means that the young tree (5-10 years old) will then die. Ring-barking of trees has also been carried out. The resulting effect of this is that the tree is left to die for chopping down another day.

Sadly what is happening at Cleveland is only a microcosm of what is happening countrywide. The rate of illegal tree cutting is frightening. If the trees are lost, the other ecosystems are also affected and may break down. For instance lack of vegetation cover leads to soil erosion and siltation of water bodies. The loss of trees means that other species are also lost like the associated species such as birds, butterflies, insects, fungi, mammals and so on and so on. A negative effect to one system has a knockon effect to many other systems.

So, as a matter of extreme priority, Environment Africa have mobilized support and launched 'Operation Cleveland' in an attempt to save the precious natural resources and in that we save ourselves. Because if no action is taken, the trees will disappear, and along with them will go the birds, animals and insects that make this area so special.

Visit the Environment Africa fact sheet

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