Walking with lions – Conservation or abuse?

Whilst we are on topic, here's another background article on the ALERT/Lion Encounter 'Walking with lions' project, this time written by respected safari guide and conservation writer Ian Michler.
Walking with lions – Conservation or abuse?
By Ian Michler
Wildife Extra
Date: 2012?
There's a decided feel-good factor to cuddling a lion cub or riding an elephant; it's something that, given half a chance, many of us would do without thinking twice. But would we be contributing to research and conservation, as wildlife-encounter operations claim? Probably not, says Ian Michler.
Over the past decade there has been a proliferation of enterprises across Africa that offer interactive or close-encounter experiences with wildlife; sign up and you can walk or romp with a wild animal, cuddle it or even ride it. Such operations include primate and bird parks, elephant-back riding and diving with crocodiles; and the most popular are those that feature the large cats.
...Some of them take a frank approach and sell themselves for what they are - commercial ventures that rely on the lure of a ‘touchy-feely' encounter. But there are many others that have a deceptive tagline, promoting themselves under the banner of conservation, science or education in an attempt to acquire legitimacy for their activities. And, although organisations such as these may be supported by a sector of the general public and some of the large local and international tour operators, they find little favour within the wider conservation and wildlife management communities.
African Encounter and Antelope Park - ALERT
These communities' attitude to the African Encounter and Antelope Park outfits that run the ‘Walk with Lions' operations in Zambia and Zimbabwe suggests that they, for example, fall into the latter category. Both are directly linked to the African Lion and Environmental Research Trust (ALERT), which attempts to legitimise their lion captive-breeding programmes and money-spinning tourist operations. It claims that charging visitors large sums of money to walk with sub-adult lions and cuddle captive-bred cubs is justified because the outfits are involved in data-collection and reintroduction programmes. Is it coincidence that they have set up shop in towns that draw substantial numbers of tourists to view the Victoria Falls, one of Africa's iconic sights?
What's more, these outfits list a number of volunteer agencies as ‘supporters'. Persuading foreign volunteers to pay for an African experience on the basis that the work they do is beneficial makes for an extremely lucrative business model. But further investigation reveals that most of the volunteer agencies are also linked to the ALERT network.
And, ALERT's vigorous efforts notwithstanding, not a single recognised carnivore conservation or research institution in Africa or elsewhere will have anything to do with it. Panthera, a respected global organisation involved in wild cat conservation, brings together the world's felid experts to direct and implement effective management strategies. Notable exceptions from this pool are ALERT and its sister bodies.
Read the full article here: Walking with lions – Conservation or abuse?

Walking with lions - Conservation Myth

Here's another background report outlining issues which will be developed in future on this blog. In 2005 ALERT/Lion Encounter set up their 'Walking with Lions' captive breeding and interaction project in the Vitcoria Falls. Nearly ten years later and, whilst over 100 lions have been used in captive tourist interactions, raising many thousands of dollars in the name of conservation in the process, not one lion has yet to be released back into the wild. Indeed the project doesn't even pretend that it will be able to release the lions it uses in captive interactions back into the wild, but has developed a smoke-screen of 'rehabilitation' and 'release' stages to hide the truth - lions bred in captivity, taken from their mothers and imprinted on human handlers, and then used in captive interactions with tourists, can never be released back into the wild and are doomed to spend their lives in captivity. The only thing which varies is the size of the cage. This report has been specifically targetted at the ALERT/Lion Encounter project, and refers to it directly.
Report Finds Captive Lion Reintroduction Programs in Africa Operate Under 'Conservation Myth'
(from Panthera Press Release, 31 July 2011)
A new report published in the international conservation journal Oryx concludes that commercial 'wildlife encounter' operations across Africa promoting the reintroduction of captive lions do little to further the conservation of African lions in the wild.
'Walking with lions: Why there is no role for captive-origin lions (Panthera leo) in species restoration,' was authored by a blue-ribbon panel of lion conservationists and wild cat biologists from Panthera, the IUCN Cat Specialist Group and a team of university-based lion researchers. Demonstrating that no lions have been successfully released as a result of this process, the report determines that commercial captive lion reintroduction programs operate largely under a 'conservation myth.'
The last two decades has seen a rapid growth of such operations especially across Southern Africa. Advertised as 'wildlife encounters,' the programs typically charge tourists and paying volunteers to pet, feed and walk with hand-raised and so-called tame lions. To the paying public, the stated objective is the eventual release to the wild of lions.
The Oryx paper assesses the potential of these programs to assist wild lion conservation by evaluating the role and suitability of captive lions for release. The report concludes that captive-bred lions are simply unnecessary for reintroduction projects. For more than two decades, wild lions have been translocated and rigorously monitored in over 40 parks across southern Africa with high success rates. Over 500 wild lions have been re-established by this process. More importantly, the evaluation shows that captive-bred lions and their offspring are poorly suited for survival and release compared to their wild-born counterparts.
Read more: Panthera Press Release
Download the full report here
Read more on Dr Luke Hunter's blog here.

Zimbabwe joins Ramsar Convention

Peter Roberts

Zimbabwe has joined to the Ramsar Convention family as its 164th Contracting Party.

It was also confirmed in January that seven sites in Zimbabwe have been identified as potential Wetlands of International Importance (Victoria Falls National Park, Mana Pools, Monavale Wetland, Lake Chivero and Manyame, Driefontein Grasslands, Chinhoyi Caves, and Cleveland Dam) and were submitted on 3 January 2013.

The Ramsar Information Sheets for these new sites are still being prepared by the government, and we will be posting more details as soon as they are made available.

On the 1st February 2013 Ramsar Secretary General Sir Anada Tiega visited Malilangombe wetlands in the Matobo district of Matebeleland province to commemorate the landmark and celebrate 2013 World Wetlands Day with Zimbabweans.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Management, Francis Nhema, highlighted the importance of wetland conservation and the wider role they play. “Wetlands deliver essential environmental,social and economic goods and services such as local level climate control, flood mitigation, food and act as regulators and providers of water. The link between water resources management and the wise use of wetlands cannot be separated.”

What are Wetlands?

Wetlands vary according to origin, geography, water regime, chemistry, vegetation and soil characteristics. The term wetland has only come into use since the 1960s, and has generally come to mean any area of land of which the soil is permanently or temporally flooded with water - but definitions of wetlands vary.

The Ramsar Convention takes a broad approach in determining the wetlands which come under its aegis, and defines wetlands are defined as: “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres” (Ramsar Information Sheet No 1).

Why Conserve Wetlands?

The natural benefits and values of wetlands, which may be felt within the wetland itself or some way away from it (for example in the case of wetlands which absorb floods), can include sediment and erosion control; flood control; maintenance of surface and underground water supply and quality; abatement of pollution and even contributions to climatic stability.

Destruction of wetlands means either that these functions have to be provided artificially at considerable cost, or that the wetland has to be restored, which costs even more. Dr L Hoffmann, in his Foreword to ‘The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: its History and Development’ (1993): "Thousands of millions, probably hundreds of thousands of millions of dollars, are spent each year in the industrialized world in order to restore the hydrological and biological functions - functions which would be free of charge if wetlands had been conserved. Ground water protection and water purification measures, in particular, swallow enormous sums. The re-establishment of formerly drained wetlands is therefore becoming more and more discussed. This is often considered an ‘expensive joke’, but actually it is a very wise step towards a better economy in the future."

Wetlands are among the most productive life-support systems in the world and are of immense socio-economic and ecological importance to mankind. They are critical for the maintenance of biodiversity and perform a great role in the biosphere. They are also cradles of biological diversity, providing the water and primary productivity upon which countless species of plants and animals depend for survival. They support high concentrations of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrate species. Wetlands are also important storehouses of plant genetic material. Rice, for example, which is a common wetland plant, is the staple diet of more than half of humanity.

Wetlands provide tremendous economic benefits: water supply (quantity and quality); fisheries; agriculture, through the maintenance of water tables and nutrient retention in floodplains; timber production; energy resources, such as peat and plant matter; wildlife resources; transport; and recreation and tourism opportunities.

What is the Ramsar Convention?

The ‘Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Wildfowl Habitat’, is an international treaty adopted at the International Conference on Conservation of Wetlands and Waterfowl held at Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. The Convention came into force in 1975 and whilst it is still officially referred to as ‘The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971)’, it soon became widely known as the ‘Ramsar Convention’. The great importance of wetlands as keystone habitats for the conservation of natural biodiversity was first recognised by European ornithologists in the 1960s who were concerned by the rapid loss of wetlands habitat critical to the survival of migratory waterbirds and initiated development of an international treaty to conserve wetlands across national boundaries.

The trans-national nature of wetland systems made their conservation and management an international issue, with many wetlands traversing national boundaries. The Ramsar Convention was the first of the modern global inter-governmental treaties on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources - the official name of the treaty, The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, reflects the original emphasis upon the conservation and wise use of wetlands primarily as habitat for waterbirds. Over the years, however, the Convention has broadened its scope of implementation to cover all aspects of wetland conservation and wise use, recognising wetlands as ecosystems that are extremely important for biodiversity conservation and for the well-being of human communities.

The mission of the Ramsar Convention, as adopted by the Parties in 1999 and refined in 2002, is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.

By recognizing the importance of wetland resources, the Convention has been instrumental in world wide action at the governmental level for conservation and wise use of wetlands.

Further Information

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Africa's last lions

Lions in danger - 75 percent of lion habitat has disappeared
Wildlife Extra - December 2012
Lion populations becoming more and more isolated across Africa. A new study has confirmed that lions are rapidly and literally losing ground across Africa's once-thriving savannahs due to burgeoning human population growth and subsequent, massive land-use conversion. Representing the most comprehensive assessment of the state and vitality of African savannah habitat to date, the report maintains that the lion has lost 75% of its original natural habitat in Africa - a reduction that has devastated lion populations across the continent.
Source and read more: WildlifeExtra - Lions in danger - 75 percent of lion habitat has disappeared

Brazilian Company expresses interest in building Batoka Dam

The Brailian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Marcia Maro da Silva, says a Brazilian company has forwarded an Expression of Interest to the Zambezi River Authority in the construction of the Batoka Gorge Dam. The closing date for formal Expressions of Interest in the project is tomorrow (Friday 8th Feb).

Source: The Zimbabwean

Batoka Dam Update

(5th February 2013)

Background on the resurrection of the Batoka Gorge Dam development.

In September 2012 an American hydrologist criticised the plans for the proposed dam designs for the Batoka Gorge Dam and Mphanda Nkuwa Dam (Mozambique) for being based on archive hydrological flow patterns which have not been re-evaluated for future climate change risks including regional drought, reduced flows and increased risk of extreme flooding events.
The report by US State of Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services hydrologist Dr Richard Beilfuss states that the result of the construction of these projects in the Zambezi basin "may be economically non-viable dams" with "an underwhelming performance against more extreme droughts and can also be a danger because they were not designed to deal with the increasingly destructive floods ...The plans for two of the biggest dam projects on the Zambezi - the Batoka Gorge dam and Mphanda Nkuwa - are based on hydrological files and were not evaluated in relation to the risks associated with the reduction of average annual flow and more extreme cycles of floods and droughts." Citing the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change, Beilfuss concluded that the Zambezi basin faces "the worst potential effects of climate changes, when compared to the 11 principal basins of Sub-Saharan Africa, and will face more substantial reduction of rainfall and runoff".
Source: Proposed Zambezi hydropower dams pose some risks, expert warns
In December 2012 Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from prospective developers on a Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis, with EoIs to be submitted by 8 Feb 2013.
Source: Batoka power project goes to tender
Details of the project were summarised in the invitation:
"The Batoka Gorge HES is to be located across the boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe at 18º 1’ S 26º 34’ E, upstream of the existing 1,470 MW Kariba Dam hydroelectric scheme. The proposed scheme includes a 181 m high Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) gravity arch dam, radial gated crest type spillway, two underground power stations on each side of the river with four 200 MW Francis turbines installed in each, giving a total capacity of 1,600 MW for the scheme. The scheme is designed as a run-of-the river scheme with an estimated average energy generation of 8,700 GWh/year. The reservoir is fully located within the Batoka Gorge and has a relatively small surface area of 26 km2."
Reports expect the project reach completion by 2019. Zambezi River Authority (ZAR) chief executive officer, Engineer Munyaradzi Munodawafa, said the Batoka project would be the largest hydro-power plant in the southern hemisphere and was expected to have a positive socio-economic impact on people from the two countries. “We are looking at the economic benefit the locals are going to derive from the project. Batoka power plant will generate 1 600 megawatts upon completion of the dam."
Fresh feasibility and EIA studies to determine actual works and financing costs for the Batoka Gorge project will have to be undertaken due to the lapse of time (the original feasibility studies were completed in 1993 and a revised EIA undertaken in 1998). Zambia’s power utility Managing Director, Cyprian Chitun, said fresh environmental impact assessment studies will be conducted before the actual construction begins. "An expression of interest was tendered in the press to look for consultants to review the study that was conducted in 1992. We need to ensure that the feasibility study is brought to speed," local source reported. ZRA public relations and communications manageress, Ms Elizabeth Karonga, confirmed the authority was waiting for a new updated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report before commencing the construction of the dam
In January 2013 it was announced that ministers from Zambia and Zimbabwe were meeting in Victoria Falls to discuss the development of the project
Zimbabwean Energy and Power Development Minister, Elton Mangoma, was reported as saying "We will be looking at all the issues that deal with Kariba Dam, the Batoka project, Devil’s Gorge and also the social aspects — the work to be done for communities around the Kariba Dam," perhaps referring to the still embittered communities resettled after the building of the Kariba Dam in the late 1950s. Mangoma also reported that the tender process for the Kariba 7 and 8 expansion was now at an advanced stage with a funding package expected to be completed by March this year. “The contract for Kariba 7 and 8 has been signed and works for mobilisation are being done. As for Hwange 7 and 8, two tenders are being evaluated and once a tender has been awarded, a final decision would be made. The tender board would be advised,” he said.
Source: Zim/Zambia tackle Batoka project
In early February it was announced that Zimbabwe and Zambia had agreed to set up a steering committee to work with the Zambezi River Authority in constructing the Batoka Gorge power generation plant. Mangoma said that “we will be opening a road to the project site by June from both sides,” he said, adding that the two parties would now be meeting quarterly to review progress.
Source: Zim/Zambia set up Steering Committee for Batoka Project
Location of the Batoka Gorge Dam
The proposed Batoka Gorge dam site is situated on the Zambezi River approximately 3km downstream of Mwemba Falls and 54km downstream from the Victoria Falls, extending across the international boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Grid Reference for the proposed Batoka Gorge Dam is ML 055-178 on the 1:50,000 scale topographical maps from both Zambia and Zimbabwe (GPS 18º 1’ S 26º 34’ E) . On the Zambia side, Livingstone is approximately 28 km north-west of Batoka Gorge, and on the Zimbabwe side Hwange is approximately 55 km south-west of Batoka Gorge.
Project Objectives
The project aims, as listed by Tumbare (2010) are to:

• - Improve current power generation at Kariba and Kafue through conjunctive operation;
• - Provide a reliable source of power for industries thus enhancing expansion and consistent industrial/manufacturing productivity;
• - Provide additional power to meet electricity demand for Zim and Zam, thus reducing pressure on forests and other organic fuels, and thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
• - Reduce dependency on coal-fired power stations, which are expensive to run, thereby reducing the associated carbon dioxide (C02) emissions;
• - Provide an alternative road link between Zam and Zim across the Zambezi River

Excess power will be exported to the region. The project will also create employment for the local communities, international and regional professionals.
History of the Batoka Gorge Dam
The first geological studies of the Batoka Gorge were undertaken in 1904 with the construction of the Victoria Falls Bridge and planning for the Victoria Falls Hydro Electric Scheme (the project was not realised until 1938).
In 1972 a report by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners identified several sites on the Zambezi which would be potentially suitable for development as hydro electric schemes. These included Batoka Gorge, Devil’s Gorge, both upstream of Lake Kariba, and Mupata Gorge, downstream of Kariba Dam. The reservoir level for the dam was determined as 762 m above sea level.
In 1981 a second Gibb report relocated the proposed dam site some 12 km upstream due to a mapping error. The reservoir level remained unchanged. The current technical, legal and environmental feasibility studies were carried out in 1993. In 1995 Zambia abandoned the project in favour of cheaper alternatives. A revised EIA was undertaken in 1998 and attempts were made to launch the project again in 2007, but failed due to lack of funding.
Early in 2012 the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe agreed the settlement of outstanding debts relating to the Kariba Project, and clearing one of the last major obstacles to the progression of the project, and together with the securing of World Bank funding the project was well and truely ressurrected.
Background/Refs
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BATOKA GORGE HYDROELECTRIC SCHEME (pdf, ZAMBEZI RIVER AUTHORITY)
The Management of the Zambezi River Basin and Kariba Dam M J Tumbare (2010)
Batoka Gorge Feasability Report - Executive Summary - Zambezi River Authority (pdf, 1993)
Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Scheme Project (pdf presentation, 2005).
Important Bird Areas of Zimbabwe - Batoka Gorge (pdf)
HYDROPOWER Zambezi Basin overview (pdf)
Save the Batoka Gorge There is also a Facebook group called Stop The Batoka Dam On The Zambezi River

FOR LATEST NEWS ON THE BATOKA DAM PROJECT CLICK HERE.

Thornicroft’s Giraffe

Another old article from the Zambezi Traveller (Issue 5, June 2011)
Peter Roberts
Thornicroft’s Giraffe is a morphologically distinct subspecies of giraffe, identified by its dark star-shaped or leafy spot markings which extend down to the lower leg. It is one of two mammal subspecies endemic to the Luangwa Valley, the other being Cookson’s wildebeest.
The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is the tallest of all extant land-living animal species and the largest ruminant. Related to other even-toed ungulates, such as deer and cattle, it is placed in a separate family, the Giraffidae, consisting of only the giraffe and its closest living relative, the okapi, and their extinct relatives.
The giraffe was originally thought to be a cross between a camel and a leopard, a mistake immortalized in the giraffe's scientific name of Giraffa camelopardalis. The giraffe’s ‘horns’ are correctly termed ossicones.
Giraffe populations are estimated to total less than 80,000 individuals and are notable for their highly fragmented distribution. There are currently nine recognised giraffe sub‐species, differentiated by size and the colour and pattern of the markings on the coat. Recent genetic studies have indicated that several of these subspecies are distinct species in their own right, and that the Thornicroft's giraffe belongs to one of possibly six unique giraffe species.
Despite its prominence, limited monitoring and research has been undertaken on the Thornicroft's giraffe. In 2008, the Wilderness Wildlife Trust established the Luangwa Thornicroft's Giraffe Project to collect baseline information through the development of a photographic database. Coat patterns are unique to individuals and remain unchanged for their entire lives (although shade may change with age) allowing researchers to identify individual giraffe and furthermore track their movement and habits.
As an iconic symbol of Zambia, the Thornicroft's giraffe is an important tourism drawcard for visitors to the country and thus an economic asset for Zambia. It is currently estimated that fewer than 1,500 Thornicroft's giraffe remain in the wild.
Websites: www.giraffeconservation.org, www.wildernesstrust.com