MITIGATING THE HUMAN FOOTPRINT IN CHAD

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 001556

SIPDIS


SECSTATE FOR AF/C, AF/EPS, OES
ACCRA FOR USAID/WARP REO, R. CLAUSEN
LIBREVILLE FOR REO, M. CASSETTA
DEPT OF INTERIOR FOR FWS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV CD
SUBJECT: MITIGATING THE HUMAN FOOTPRINT IN CHAD



1. Summary. Wildlife biologist, Michael Fay, and a group of
eight NGOs/foundations will soon undertake an ambitious
effort to develop a long-term conservation plan to preserve
Chad's wildlife populations. Program manager Jean-Marc
Froment from the group, African Parks Conservation,
accompanied by Chadian wildlife specialist, Dr. Dolmia
Malachie, briefed the Embassy October 19 on this and other
environmental projects scheduled to take place in the near
future. End summary.


2. Three previous trips to Chad this year by wildlife
biologist, Michael Fay, have resulted in increased exposure
of its environmental issues and potentialities to the
scientific community, to conservation groups and to the
public at large, both in the U.S and in Chad. For U.S.
audiences, the September 2005 special issue of National
Geographic on Africa included the results of Fay's "Human
Footprint Project," graphically illustrating the impact of
people on the continent and including photographs and
commentary about Chad. For the Chadian audience, Fay gave a
presentation to environmental groups and officials during his
November 2004 visit. He returned in March 2005 to conduct an
aerial survey, with Dolmia, of large mammals in the Zakouma
National Park; they counted 3,885 elephants, 5,082 water
buffalo, and 1,335 damalisk antelope, while estimating
population numbers for some of the other species. He will
return to Chad next week with a new airplane to undertake a
new, more ambitious effort.


3. Impressed by Chad's wildlife populations and its rugged,
remote desert regions which include the Tibesti Mountains and
the Ennedi massif, Fay and a group of eight environmental
NGOs and foundations have begun arriving in Chad for a
four-month project which will result in a long-term
conservation plan for the country. A number of specific
studies are to be conducted during this period, including
another aerial survey of large mammals, this time focusing on
the desert regions where the addax and oryx once roamed in
large herds. Though it is likely that a number of specific
zones throughout Chad will be identified and recommended for
protective status, the focus of the effort seems to be on
areas north of latitude 16. Strategies and funding mechanisms
will also be recommended.


4. Hoping to build on past successes of Paul Fentener van
Vlissingen, a business leader who is funding the management
of several wildlife game reserves in Africa and who has
expressed an interest in becoming more involved in
French-speaking African countries, the African Parks
Conservation and its partners in this effort intend to
explore such avenues of private funding for the areas
included in their conservation plan. They also intend to
approach the ESSO oil production project to see if there
might be private sector interest there. The model used by
the Dutch conservationist involves subcontracting park
management to private companies, and this is likely the model
which would be recommended for Chad.


5. During this briefing from the African Parks Conservation
representative, Embassy officers were also told that
additional National Geographic coverage of Chad's environment
and wildlife is expected in the near future.


6. Comment. Embassy continues to believe that fragile
states such as Chad which teeter on the brink of both
political instability and environmental disaster need the
appropriate assistance programs to shore them up. This
explains our insistence that an environmental strategic goal
be retained in the FY 2007 MPP. The presence of 200,000
refugees from Sudan, currently having a negative impact on
the environment in eastern Chad, can be traced in part to
natural resource constraints in the Darfur and poor
stewardship of the environment. Embassy is appreciative of
the modest amounts of assistance received in previous years
from the Department of Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service
and ESF allowances from AF which have been well utilized and
have made significant differences in the environments of
communities where those resources have been allocated. A


growing recognition on the part of the NGO community and
private foundations that Chad still has an environment worth
preserving, and that there are enough concerned individuals
to make it happen, is a positive development which we intend
to encourage and support.
WALL


NNNN