Welcome to #9 in a series of blogs written by Alison Jones before her departure to Uganda and Kenya as NWNL’s lead photographer.
Pregnant Karimojong girl carrying baby and water, Kidepo Valley, Uganda
Date: Wed–Fri, 7–9 April 2010 /Entry 9
Reporter: Alison M. Jones
Location: Kidepo Valley National Park
The last of the six national parks to be visited on this expedition is the 556 sq mi (1,442 sq km) Kidepo Valley National Park, with its views of Alekilek Volcano, Labwor Hills and Bar Alerek Rock.
This park is located on the Sudanese border. It is comprised of savannah landscapes ending in the rugged horizon formed by Mountain Forest. Along its Lorupei River, there are Acacia geradi forests, kopjes – quite typical of arid Kenya. Its huge latitudinal range, and thus climate variety, accommodates a high diversity of flora as well as fauna. Carnivores here include lion, bat-ear fox, striped hyena, aardwolf, caracal, cheetah and hunting dog. Ungulates include the lesser and greater kudu, reedbuck, klipspringer, bright gazelle, Rothschild giraffe and oribi, and kavirondo bush baby. The tree-climbing lions are found in Narus Valley. There are 58 birds of prey in this park.
This park is known for its giant kigela trees, big sand rivers, unusual fox kestrels and fascinating walks. We will also visit the Kanangorok Hot Springs, located 11 km from Kidepo River Valley, and a local village. The Karimajong manyattas and kraals will offer interesting cultural perspectives.
From the field: Abutting southern Sudan, this dramatic open savanna valley in Karamoja district was the “lomej” (the meeting point) where Karimojong, Ik and Dodoth pastoralists gathered for their hunting. Otherwise the scarcity of rain kept them nomadic and well dispersed, since Karamoja gets only 600–800 mm of rain per year, far below what is needed to sustain people and their herds. The rule of thumb is that at least 1,000 mm is needed to sustain people in a land without infrastructure.
In this valley where dry season dust-devils can rise up to 50 m high, three seasonal rivers that run north to meet the Nile in Sudan and deep, hand-dug and -shelved wells in sand beds have provided water for these people and the wildlife. In 1962 the Uganda Wildlife Authority gazetted Kidepo National Park and moved the indigenous people out beyond the park boundaries.
Traditionally, both the women and the men who lived here had rain ceremonies. The male elders slaughtered and read the intestines of a cow to predict when rains would come. The women would travel as a group, singing and dancing, to seek those who might have angered the gods by unethical practices, such as stealing a neighbor’s crops. When the women found the likely perpetrator, they would denounce him for causing the gods to withholding rain. With justice served in this raucous fashion, the gods would be willing to release the rain again.
However, recently rain has become scarcer according to Faustino, the 100-year-old Karimojong chief interviewed by NWNL. Since the longest-running civil wars in Africa have surrounded and spilled into Karamoja, automatic weapons have proliferated. Thus – as in Ethiopia’s Omo River Basin – fatal conflicts over access to water and cattle raiding have risen with the increased frequency and severity of drought and environmental stress in turn causing severe famine. Recently the government has established a policy of disarmament in this region, which has reduced the killing and is applauded by many, including Chief Faustino. Yet, still, his people’s well has gone bad and their cattle have been raided. Fortunately, the village is sustained today by tourism income and a badly-needed health clinic and accompanying well are about to be built.
NO WATER NO LIFE BLOG 