Abyata Shala National Park

 volcano, caldera, national park

The Abyata Shala National Park (ASNP) was once a protected, untouched and pristine wilderness conveniently set near the national capital, some 200km (124mi) south of Addis along the main Moyale Highway. The park comprised of Lakes, Abyata, Shala and the tiny, but imprtant Chitu and the land around the lakes extended over the total surface area of 887 km² (342.5 mi²) in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), elevation range between (1,559-2,056m) (5,114-6,745ft) above sea level.

Unfortunately, ASNP has long been destroyed due to colossal neglect and relentless human encroachment, and what is left of it can only be categorized as anything but national park. Anyone who had the opportunity to travel along the Moyale Highway between Ziway and Arsi Negele prior to and after the destruction of the park must have witnessed both the best and worst of what humans are capable of doing to the environment.

The park was established to protect the extremely sensitive and fragile ecosystem of the MER, part of the Great Rift Valley, and preserve natural habitat for species of birds as well as mammals. Teeming with fish Lake Abyata provided feeding site for fish-eating birds; the islands on Lake Shala served as breeding ground for pelicans, storks and cormorants. The land around the lakes was abundant with grass, and was covered with thick forest of acacia trees. In fact, the forest was so dense, it was literally impossible to view the lakes from any point along the highway, except from higher ground north of Arsi Negele. And even then, instead of the lakes, it was the green canopy of acacia trees blanketing the earth that attracted the wandering eyes of travelers. In addition to the awe-inspiring scenery, some of the wild animals from the park used to be seen feeding remarkably close to the highway. Even though the park's boundary on the east was marked by the highway, the area beyond the highway to the shores of Lake Langano also appeared in pristine condition similar to the park. The entire area was free of human settlements; not a single hut or plot of farmland ever existed inside or nearby the park.

Today, however, it's totally different story: The acacia trees have been chopped down and turned into fire-wood and charcoal exposing the fragile soil to erosion by wind as well as seasonal floods. The land around the lakes is now dotted by huts, plots of farmland and termite mounds. Some of the latest activities inside the park include the construction of corrugated tin-roof homes, shops, schools, religious centers and even the establishment of cemeteries. Moreover, soda ash mining and irrigation schemes have caused Lake Abyata to recede incredibly in rapid rates. As seen on Wikimapia, the surface area of the lake shrunk from 176 km² (68 mi²) to 110km² (42.5 mi²) in less than five years. The drastic drop in water volume resulted in high level of salinity and killed of all the fish in the lake and forced the birds that fed on it to abandon the park. Following the footsteps of Abyata, Lake Ziway is also showing significant decline in water volume.

The Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority (EEPA) points to the early 1990s political situation of the country to have caused the ASNP's demise: "During the tumultuous period of the Derg regime was coming to a close, large numbers of nomads took advantage of weakened central authority to move into the park and set up residence with their livestock".
(www.epa.gov.et/SitePages/NationalParks.aspx)

Well, it has been almost a quarter of a century since the fall of the Derg, and the impending question is, why on earth there hasn't been any intervention to this date by the central government to save and restore one of the most (if not the most) important national parks in the country? What is even more disturbing is, to note that the central government's engagement in partnership with the private sector for the soda ash extraction from Lake Abyata, and its' ambitious, but misguided plan to expand the "project" to include Lake Shala. As if that weren't enough, to add insult to injury, massive amount of water is being diverted from Lake Ziway and its' discharge, Bulbula River which is the principal feeder to Lake Abyata. According to research documents, over 181 water pumps were discovered on Lake Ziway and Bulbula River; 93 of those pumps were actively engaged in delivering enormous and unsustainable amount of water for irrigation.

The staggering number of water pumps on a relatively small lake in a semi-arid climate, operating without any form of oversight speaks volume about the unbelievable rate of neglect and over-exploitation of precious, irreplaceable and finite natural resources. If the trend continues, Lake Abyata will be a dry lake bed in a couple of years, followed by Lake Ziway soon after. Contrary to the claims made by the "Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority", it's neither the "...tumultuous period..." nor "nomads" , but rather the central government that should bear all the responsibility for the catastrophic destruction of ASNP and the MER as a whole. This is not some negligible crises; it's rather huge, and is the central government's own making; no one else to blame.