[FEL-L] Ethiopian Elephants, Lions at Risk as Forest Cut

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Ethiopian Elephants, Lions at Risk as Forest Cut :-(
ETHIOPIA: June 1, 2007 
ADDIS ABABA - A thousand rare black-mane lions -- an Ethiopian 
national symbol -- and some 300 elephants are in danger after a swathe 
of forest in their sanctuary was cut down, a wildlife expert said on 
Thursday. 
The land was cleared from a conservation area at Midiga Tola, adjacent 
to the Babile Elephant Sanctuary located 560 km (350 miles) east of 
Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Wildlife Association President Yirmed Demeke 
said. 
Flora EcoPower Holding AG, a German biodiesel producer based in 
Munich, cleared the forest after it was granted 10,000 hectares of 
land by the government, Yirmed said. 
"The company has continued to clear the forested land without any 
concern for the wild animals threatened by the destruction of an 
internationally recognised conservation area," Yirmed said. 
Flora EcoPower's Chief Operations Officer for Ethiopia Alon Hovev said 
the company had met wildlife experts and government officials over the 
past few days to solve the problem. 
"We are not touching one area where there are elephants," said Hovev, 
saying their work was 30 km from the elephants. 
Hovev said the problem arose from a lack of communication between the 
company and conservation groups, but said it was resolved at the 
meetings. 
"No one can tell us we are not taking care of animals. Anything they 
will tell us to do, we will do and we will contribute money," he said 
on Thursday. 
Wildlife experts visiting the forest protested against the regional 
and federal governments, saying the company had not conducted the 
legally required environmental impact assessment before cutting the 
forest down. 
Tadesse Hailu, head of the Ministry of Agriculture's Wildlife 
Protection Department, said local authorities must make sure 
investment did not harm conservation areas, wildlife or the 
environment. 
The 7,000 sq km (4,350 sq mile) sanctuary is one of a kind in 
Ethiopia, and home to about 300 elephants, 1,000 black-mane lions and 
250 bird and plant species endemic to the Horn of Africa nation. 
The black-mane lions are revered in Ethiopia, where they are on the 
national currency and often depicted in statues. 
Scores of the black-maned lions are kept in a zoo in the capital Addis 
Ababa. Wildlife experts estimate that only about 1,000 remain in the 
wild. (Additional reporting by Bryson Hull in Nairobi) 
Story by Tsegaye Tadesse 
_http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42288/story.htm_ 
(http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42288/story.htm)  



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