Protected Areas and World Heritage Programme

IUCN Management Category II (National Park)

Biogeographical Province 3.14.07 (Somalian)

Geographical Location East of Maji township, Gamo Goffa Region. 5°40'N, 36°20'E.

Date and History of Establishment Under development since July 1978, but not yet gazetted

Area 150,000ha; contiguous to Tama Wildlife Reserve in the Omo-Tama-Mago complex

Land Tenure Government

Altitude 500-1,000m

Physical Features The Mago River flows southwards into the Omo River, which enters Lake Turkana at its northern end. The Mago valley floor (at about 600m) is very flat with mainly sandy soil and the western wall is formed by the Ngalebong Hills (which seem to constitute a horstblock). The eastern wall of the rift rises steeply to the Baco Highlands. At the southern end of the Ngalebong Hills (known as the Galleb Hills by local people) the land is very dissected with steep eroded slopes. The Plain of Death between the Ngalebong Hills and the Omo River is generally flat.

Climate No information

Vegetation The hills forming the eastern wall of the Mago valley have open broadleaf savanna of Combretum and Terminalia species with thickets along the gulleys. Other conspicuous savanna trees are Piliostigma thonningii, Stereospermum kunthianum (when in flower) and Gardenia lutea. Grasses are generally tall with Hyparrhenia sp., H. dissoluta, Themeda triandra, and Setaria triniveria predominating. On the drier valley floor, the broadleaf savanna is replaced by thornbush with scattered tall Acacia tortilis trees. There is a conspicuous density mosaic, probably determined mainly by the drainage pattern. Predominating bush species include Acacia mellifera, Salvadora persica, Grewia villosa, G. tenax, Cadaba farinosa, Maerua oblongifolia, Euphorbia grandicornis and E. scoparia. Sansevieria is abundant and Adenium obesum (the desert rose) is frequent in more open areas. The Hyparrhenia grass of the hills is replaced with shorter perennials such as Chloris myriostachya, Sporobolus sp., and Ischaemum brachatherum. This fairly open association gives way to a belt of dense closed thicket several kilometres wide in the region of the Mago River. The outer zone of the thicket contains most of the above species, with bushes of Acalypha sp. particularly abundant. The bushes are frequently hung and interlaced with scandent species such as Cissus quadrangularis and C. rotundifolia. At the south end of the Mago valley, the thicket merges imperceptibly with the riverine forest along the Omo.

Fauna The area is particularly important for buffalo Syncerus caffer and oryx Oryx gazella beisa. Other mammals include: zebra Equus burchelli, waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus, greater kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, lesser kudu T. imberbis, topi Damaliscus lunatus, Grant's gazelle Gazella granti, Lelwel hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus lelwel, elephant Loxodonta africana (T), giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis, duiker Sylvicapra grimmia, lion Panthera leo, leopard P. pardus (T), and hunting dog Lycaon pictus (T). Bird species include ostrich Struthio camelus. Crocodiles Crocodylus sp. are present.

Cultural Heritage No information

Local Human Population No information

Visitors and Visitor Facilities Access to the park is difficult, even by Ethiopian standards. It is not open to the public, although there have been proposals for further development.

Scientific Research and Facilities Some surveys have been completed.

None

Conservation Value No information

Conservation Management Total

Management Constraints There is no recent information, but information from Bolton (1971) is as follows. Established settlements at the south end of the Omo River bank belong to the Karo tribe, who are cultivating the seasonally flooded terraces and clearing riverine forest. There are settlements on the hills of the east wall and Murse villages with cattle and goats along the western foothills of the Ngalebong Hills (known as the Murse Hills by the local people). Murse cattle graze on the Plain of Death, but there are no dwellings there. Poachers operate throughout the Mago valley coming mainly from the hills to the east.

Staff One warden, six game guards and one driver

Budget Approximately US$95,000

Local Addresses

Warden, Mago National Park, Wildlife Conservation Organization, Box 386, Addis Ababa.

References

Ash, J.S. (1976). Birds at Omo National Park, August 1976.

Bolton, M. (1971). Mago Valley Ecological Survey.

Stephenson, J. and Mizuno, A. (1978). Recommendations on the conservation of wildlife in the Omo-Tama-Mago Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Report for Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia. Wildlife Conservation Department, Addis Ababa. (Lists flora and fauna and describes proposed boundary for Omo/Mago).

Date April 1985