Figure 7 : Livestock
grazing inside the park (Photo by Yacob Kassa, 2018)
Deforestation in the park illegally occurred by the local community for
their basic needs. The Park is surrounded by intensive agricultural
activities and increasing human settlements, which have been evidenced
by already cleared trees in and/or surrounding the Park area (Figure 8
and 9). A large amount of fuelwood in the park is collected by
inhabitants that illegally exist in the park. Another cause for cutting
trees from the park is the need for wood of small canoes required to
practice the lakes for fishing and shipping. The loss of indigenous
vegetation in the park is also caused by livestock grazing needs. As the
human population increases, so do the livestock populations nearby the
park. With less and less land available for grazing, local pastoralists
are taking their cattle into the National Park for fodder.
Arba Minch town shares an immediate border of about 15 km with Nech Sar
National Park. The discussion made with the discussants revealed that
fuelwood collection is also being considered as the major source of
livelihood for many inhabitants of the city. People from neighboring
districts are also believed to come to Arba Minch city to be engaged in
fuelwood collection as a source of additional income generation and
means of livelihood.