Africa-Press – Angola. The Luengue-Luiana National Park, in the municipality of Rivungo, province of Cuando Cubango, urgently needs the installation of drinking fountains and mineral salt stones in specific locations, to better attract and retain animal species in their habitat.
Created based on Law No. 38/11, of 29 December, the Luengue-Luiana National Park has 45,818 square kilometers and also covers the towns of Luengue (municipality of Mavinga) and Mucusso (Dirico). It is part of the Okavango-Zambezi Environmental Conservation Project (KAZA), located in the river basins of these regions, where the borders of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe converge.
The most abundant species of wild animals are buffaloes, elephants, impalas, hippos, sables, zebras, jaguars, lions, hyenas and wild boars which, together with forest and water resources, make the park one of the biggest tourist attractions in the southern region of Angola.
The municipal administrator of Rivungo, João Wilson Tchimbinde, explained hat, due to the lack of drinking fountains, especially during the cacimbo season, and mineral salt stones inside the Luengue-Luiana National Park, the animals look for these conditions in neighboring countries, particularly Namibia.
Mineral salt stones
Mineral salt stones are essential for a balanced diet and the health of wild animals, in addition to allowing them to be concentrated in the main tourist attractions.
“With the installation of drinking fountains and mineral salt stones, we intend to see the concentration of animals at the main points of reference, where tourists can easily find herds of elephants, buffaloes, zebras, sables and other species, without look a lot,” he explained.
In rainy weather, he said, it is difficult to find large groups of animals in the Luengue-Luiana National Park, because they are dispersed due to the pools of water that prevent them from concentrating in a single spot.
This reality was proven during the excursion that more than 180 national and foreign tourists took, from the 18th to the 22nd of January, to the Luengue-Luiana National Park, as part of the 1st Forum of the Angolan Okavango Region. At the time, hikers only had the opportunity to see impalas and hippos.
Disillusionment
For many tourists, who traveled more than two thousand kilometers, corresponding to the round trip from the city of Menongue to the Luengue-Luiana National Park, the excursion was a real disappointment, because they were unable to see, photograph or make videos of the large herds. , especially elephants, buffaloes and sables, which are the main attractions of the place.
The disappointment is also justified by the problems encountered on the route to the park, due to the advanced state of degradation of the access roads.
It is with this and other situations in mind that also aim to better preserve animal species, that the municipal administrator of Rivungo advocates the urgent implementation of drinking fountains and mineral salt stones in the park, so that tourists can, in At any time of year, enjoy the diversity of faunal resources.
According to João Wilson Tchimbinde, the Luengue-Luiana National Park, with an infinity of ecosystems and natural beauty, only calls for investments to better conserve biodiversity, protect ecological integrity, carry out scientific research, develop ecotourism and environmental education activities.
“It is for this reason that we want favorable and attractive conditions to be created for animals to return to their natural habitat. Many emigrate in search of better accommodation and food conditions that other parks in neighboring countries offer and which are not even found in the Luengue-Luiana park, nor in Mavinga,” he said.
Lack of charge for park tickets
The municipal administrator of Rivungo also defended investment in tourist infrastructure and access roads within the park, to boost tourism and other related activities, as well as for the good of the communities living around it.
Another important issue, according to the administrator, has to do with the lack of charging to tourists who visit the park, as the amounts to be collected would essentially be used for the maintenance and logistics support of environmental inspectors.
To this end, he said it was urgent to set up entrance and exit gates to the park, to allow the collection of fees or fees that contribute to the growth of revenue collection for the State coffers and the reduction of the level of unemployment and hunger. of the population.
The administrator highlighted that, in other member countries of the Okavango-Zambeze project, tourists pay a fee to visit the parks, which does not happen in the Luengue-Luiana National Park, nor in Mavinga, both located in the province of Cuando Cubango..
Charging admission fees for the park, he guaranteed, will make this large project, in the Angolan component, accelerate the socio-economic development of the province and provide better living conditions for the population, if there are investments that promote ecotourism.
The administrator pointed to the need to build infrastructure for the exploration of tourism, with emphasis on lodges and catering services in the localities of Buabuata, Jamba, Boa-fé, Benório, Chocho, Chacha, Ilha do Naruanda, Ilha da sede, Santa Cruz, Papa-1, Rom-2, Bico de Angola, Real (old river port) and in the Vezi-vezi lagoon, in the municipality of Rivungo.
Installation of bank branches
João Wilson Tchimbinde considered that the development of tourism also involves the installation of bank branches in the municipality of Rivungo, in order to facilitate the activity of national and foreign investors and tourists.
“We intend, with the implementation of these and other projects, to make the Tourism sector, through the Luengue-Luiana National Park, a source of income for the socioeconomic development of our municipality and, consequently, the improvement of the social conditions of the population”, he stressed.
Reduced number of environmental inspectors
Another issue that concerns the municipal administrator of Rivungo is the reduced number of environmental inspectors to control the 45,818 square kilometers that comprise the Luengue-Luiana National Park.
Without revealing the number of existing staff, João Wilson Tchimbinde said it was necessary to reinforce staff with at least 300 more inspectors, in order to counter the negative actions of poachers and other people who are enemies of the environment.
“Our park has a very vast area, which has been garrisoned by a tiny number of “soldiers of nature”, insufficient to combat poachers, especially Namibians and Zambians, who invade the national territory to decimate, mainly, elephants, with the aim of extracting ivory, buffaloes, wild boars and impalas, for the meat trade”, he said.
The administrator argued that the inspectors to be recruited must be from the municipalities of Dirico, Rivungo and Mavinga, as they know the park’s forests better and do not need many accommodation and logistical conditions. Staff from other regions, he said, would require many perks to work in this role.
Construction of the park headquarters
The municipal administrator of Rivungo also defended the construction of the headquarters of the Luengue-Luiana National Park. To date, he said, there is no infrastructure to handle issues related to the project.
João Wilson Tchimbinde said that, if the idea is validated, the park’s future facilities should be built in the municipal headquarters of Luiana, specifically in Jamba, in the town of Benório or Boa-fé, on the outskirts of the Bico de Angola area.
“Currently, there is no place where a person can go if they want to carry out scientific research or visit the main tourist attraction areas of the park, due to the lack of a direction”, lamented the administrator, for whom, in addition to an infrastructure own, it is necessary to recruit qualified staff and tour guides for the full functioning of the headquarters.
Due to the fact that the park’s main managers do not reside in the region, João Wilson Tchimbinde said that it is also necessary to include the Rivungo Municipal Administration in the management system, as well as its participation in the development of conservation, education and awareness projects, in collaboration with the Provincial Government, Ministries of the Environment, Culture and Tourism, local communities and other groups.
According to the administrator, it is also a priority to build a bridge over the Cuando river, between the municipal headquarters of Rivungo and the Namibian town of Shangombo, to promote tourism in the Okavango-Zambezi project area and, consequently, the region of SADC.
Huge flora and fauna resources to explore
Environmentalist Eufrazina Teodoro Paiva, who was part of the delegation of tourists and investors that visited the Luengue-Luiana National Park, said she had a good impression of the region, which has immense forest and fauna resources that are practically virgin.
According to the interviewee, this is a “unique opportunity” that Angola has to invest and be able to generate jobs, both for the low and middle classes, contributing to the implementation of the economy’s diversification program.
“We have an immense amount of natural resources that, if properly used, will be able to further develop tourism. We can, in addition to oil, have this sector as one of the major sources of revenue for the Angolan State”, he highlighted.
Eufrazina Teodoro Paiva highlighted that she had the opportunity to travel, for five days, through several municipalities and communes in the province of Cuando Cubango, which border Namibia and Zambia, where she discovered many rivers and beautiful landscapes that any tourist would like to see.
The environmentalist also noted the existence of several ravines, so while there is no greater intervention by central structures, she suggested to the Government of the Province of Cuando Cubango that it find a solution to the problem, working with local communities on the plantation. of cacti along the roads, aiming to prevent continuous soil erosion.
The environmentalist also warned that, if no intervention is carried out to seal the ravines in the coming days, they could cut off the circulation of vehicles between the city of Menongue and the municipalities of Cuangar, Calai and Dirico. She expressed the willingness of the Imbondeiro Environmental Association, of which she is a member, to deliver the first cactus seedlings, to later be multiplied locally.
According to the environmentalist, the idea is to also provide training to local communities and these, in turn, do the work to create and plant cacti in the areas where the ravines are emerging.
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