African Wildlife and Environment Issue 68

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

and crocodile, and in one village we also found a live Pangolin which was apparently on its way to a local market in Rundu, Namibia. The Halo Trust kindly escorted us through one of the largest active mine fields in the country, and these mixed woodlands seemed to show increased bird numbers as well as a clear increase in small mammal burrows and tracks. The active landmines are a strong deterrent for people to hunt and burn in these woodlands and have ironically provided a form of habitat and species protection. We also noted that once portions of land were adequately cleared of the mines, the woodland would immediately be cleared of all trees through slash and burn techniques, and either maize, sorghum or cassava would be planted in its place.

The long and tormented history of civil war has left its scar on the place, and entering Angola as a visitor is not a straightforward process. I was beginning to think that I would never get to see the source of the Okavango and explore the water ways that provide such crystal-clear water to Namibia and Botswana each year. But in 2012 and 2013, I was given the opportunity to join a team of scientists to carry out two one-month-long biodiversity expeditions along a number of the catchment’s many tributaries. The team included ichthyologists (fish), botanists (plants), herpetologists (reptiles and amphibians), ornithologists (birds) and entomologists (insects). All members of this team had extensive experience in their fields and the Southern African region, but few of them had had the opportunity to extensively survey this region of Angola before. I was lucky that many of the team were also good friends with whom I had shared expeditions in the past. My role in these two surveys would be to assist with all species collections but also with trip logistics and the safety of our team. In preparation for the first trip, our logistics team arranged meetings with landmine clearing officers who were active in Angola, in order to discuss protocols for traveling through these areas and the various risks we may encounter as we attempted to survey the remote and war-torn habitats. The risk was very real, and immediately

Cuito), while within close proximity to one another, are significantly different in character. The Cubango and its source is dominated by hard underlying rock which leads to a faster flowing river which drains quicker and surges during summer rainfall months. The underlying structure of the Cuito is more similar to the Okavango and is dominated by soft Kalahari sand, and a water source characterised by soft peat beds which act as a large sponge. These peat beds receive rain in the summer and are able to absorb and store this fresh water. As the beds become saturated, they slowly purge the water into the drainage channels at a more steady and slow pace, which has led to a larger drainage pattern characterised by wide, slow flowing channels with largemeanders and extensive ox-bow lake formations. The filtering effect and slow flow of this water also means that it is exquisitely clear. The findings of these ‘blitz’ surveys would further display the differences in these two systems by the presence or absence of certain species in each river. The ichthyologists noted a number of species found in the Okavango Delta, which were not found in the upper catchment. A very interesting find was the inter basin variation of same species, such as the Hyphen Barb Barbus bifrenatus which showed as many as four different variations within the system. Fish such as the Copperstripe Barb Barbus multilineatus and the Spottail Barb Barbus afrovernayi were found in the Cuito but not in the Cubango while the Topstripe Barb Barbus dorsolineatus and Cubango Kneria Parakneria fortuita were present in the Cubango river but not in the Cuito. In total, 19 amphibian and 17 reptile species were documented on our first survey in 2012, the greater majority with voucher specimens. Every record made during this survey within the Angolan Okavango system represents a new confirmed record to the Angola fauna. The botanical surveys yielded more than 350 plant species and in most cases four specimens were collected of each of these species. The dragonfly and damselfly (insect order Odonata) findings were exceptional, with the first SAREP expedition yielding 87 species, 17 of them new to the country list and two new to science. One of these new species was in fact, named after the expedition itself - the ‘Sarep Sprite’ Pseudagrion sarepi . A new species for Angola also came from the second SAREP Expedition in 2013. These surveys, together with other national surveys carried out after 2011 have indicated that Angola is one of the most diverse countries for the Odonata in Africa and could hold more than 300 species. The impact of the war on terrestrial species was clear, with most large herbivore species almost completely wiped out and bird numbers dismally low. The consumption and sale of bush meat in these parts is an issue, and during visits into some of these communities we noted bush meat from kudu, buffalo

after entering into Angola from Namibia, warning signs for active landmine sites became the norm. Our role would be to manage and somehow control the movement of this team of very excited scientists who run into the bush with a net and bag. Our convoy for the first expedition took off from Maun, Botswana with an overnight in Rundu (Namibia) and then on to Menongue in southern Angola. Menongue would, according to our schedule, see the start of our surveying efforts. Four vehicles’ worth of scientists of course, had other ideas and the drive up took much longer than anticipated, as no stone was left unturned (literally) and every type of water body passed had us knee-deep with nets collecting fish, dragonflies and frogs. This biodiversity survey had been arranged and funded by the Southern African Regional Environmental Programme (SAREP), a USAID funded project which aimed to describe the biodiversity of the region with the hopes of providing protection to sensitive habitats and regions that require it. We would meet up with local Angolan scientists in Menongue, who would join us for the entire expedition, and in doing so would ensure that their Angolan institutions were also able to learn from the results of these surveys, and have the opportunity to house some of the collected specimens. The month-long survey focussed mainly on the aquatic environment and it was our intention to survey a number of different river profiles at different elevations. We would base these surveys on the two larger rivers of the Okavango catchment, the Cuito and Cubango Rivers, with a shorter survey of the lower Cuando River taking place in 2013. The Okavango River basin drains in a general north south direction. By moving from east to west, we would essentially be able to survey a cross section of the basin, giving us access to a number of different tributary profiles and a good diversity of aquatic habitats. The two main channels of the Okavango catchment (Cubango and

Identified land mines that are still to be cleared by the demining teams

To say that Angola is a complicated country is an understatement. From a conservation perspective however, it does seem that the tide may have finally turned in Angola, as the Ministry of Environment has shown a willingness to collaborate with outside organisations in an attempt to protect habitats and expand protected areas. The findings fromour surveys showed that Angola’s wealth of aquatic habitats harbours rich freshwater fauna. Although large areas are relatively untouched, Angola’s rapid economic and population growth will have a tremendous impact on the environment and thus human well-being in the future. In light of this, Angola’s development should consider (1) the establishment of efficient sewage works in cities and larger villages; (2) a stop to deforestation, especially along stream courses; (3) restoration of deforested water catchments; (4) village-level awareness campaigns for sustainable use of freshwater sources, e.g. no detergents and waste dumping in rivers; and finally (5) biodiversity surveys and monitoring to feed into a national conservation plan.

Vincent Shacks General Manager Ecotourism WESSA www.wessa.org.za

Herpetologist with a captured Platanna Xenopus laevis

The processing of fish samples

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