By Chowoo Willy
Murchison Falls National Park and the Flooding:
Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s biggest National Park, home to Nile Crocodiles, and with the highest concentration of Nile Crocodiles in Africa is yet to recover from the impact of flooding that has displaced dozens of its Crocodiles.
Murchison Falls Conservation Area is experiencing changes in the vegetation temperature, and moisture levels which are the drivers for the current habitat change and it is blamed for the current flooding and droughts in the Uganda National Parks.
The Park registered the highest flooding in 2020 and 2021 where many Nile Crocodiles were displaced, separated, or died. Their habitat – the sand, where they used to lay their eggs was washed away and replaced by mud, affecting their reproduction life cycles.
The park Authority says the flooding has displaced the Nile Crocodiles from their home village on the downside of the River Nile to the top of the Nile Falls and they are not sure as to how many have survived from the shocks of the heavy flooding.
This flooding has been attributed to the impact of Climate change which has become a global crisis and is affecting every sector including biodiversity conservations. In Uganda, climate change is a new challenge to the biodiversity management in the National Parks. The shift in temperature has presented unpredictable weather patterns.
Mr. Raymond Kato, the warden in charge of ecological monitoring and Research at the park says the flooding has affected their breeding areas, “ if you know the behavior of crocodiles, they lay their eggs in the sand at the bank of the river, so when the flood comes, the sand is replaced by mud”.
Mr. Kato adds that this has made the areas unconducive for the Nile Crocodiles and has forced most of them to move either upstream or downstream looking for ample areas to lay their eggs.
The crocodile population inhabits the section of the Victoria Nile between the delta and the Murchison Falls National Park.
The park Authority is worried that this shift is affecting the production rate. “When the shift happens, they are no longer producing, and you find that it affects the particular period of reproduction,” Mr. Kato adds.
Kato notes that they don’t know how many Nile crocodiles have been displaced, separated, or killed and the number of eggs destroyed by the flooding.
Audio One:-Kato Raymond Speaking about the impact of flooding on the conservation of the Nile Crocodiles.
However, the authority says the Crocodiles have been sighted at the top of the falls of the Nile and that is where they are currently reported to be laying their eggs.
With the fear that the Park is on the verge of losing the species due to the impact of climate change on the aquatic life, the authority plans to undertake an animal census to ascertain the exact number of Nile Crocodiles that have remained within the National park.
Climate change has not only affected crocodiles but habitats for other wildlife, Mr. Amanya Samuel, the chief warden of Kidepo Valley Conservation Area says too much rain has also led to the change in diversity. “We think in one way or another, maybe an increase in carbon in the atmosphere could be one of the causes of probably the current too much rain in some areas and flood”.
Why the Sand is important for crocodiles:
The sand at the riverbanks or lakeshores is very important for both reptiles and amphibians. It is their home, they use it for breeding and protection from their enemies.
Reptiles such as crocodiles enjoy the riverbanks and they use the sand for laying their eggs, catching insects to make their meal even for resting and sleeping, and sometimes sunbathing.
Dr Mathias Behangana, a Ugandan Aquatic biology expert says any attack on the sand will make them have no breeding, “you are actually exterminating the population of the species, and such species shall have nowhere to produce young ones that species will disappear from the area.”
Dr. Behangana adds that if mud replaced the sand, it would have disorganized them, “you actually have done away with the homes of these amphibians and reptiles, and other than laying eggs, and they hide deep in the water from the predators or enemies”.
The Ugandan Herpetologist and Researcher notes that the riverbanks should be left intact so that the organisms including plants should survive because animals, amphibians, and reptiles regularly use the bank for feeding.
Other Threats to Crocodile Conservation:
The Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is the most widespread in the country and can be seen in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, along various stretches of the Nile River, and in Lakes Albert and Victoria.
Nile Crocodile survival is threatened by water pollution, habitat loss, extensive water abstraction for irrigation, domestic use and industrial development, and overexploitation of fisheries resources in water systems.
The crocodiles are often killed by the fishing communities surrounding the park in unprotected areas. For example, crocodiles have been drawn to soak-away pits of water at drilling sites in Murchison Falls National Park – often several kilometers from the river.
It is believed that egg collection for the farming of crocodiles continues in Murchison Falls National Park even though the 10-year license expired in the early 2000s.
Mitigating the Impact of Climate Change in the Park:
The park authority has put in place both Adaptation and Mitigation measures to ensure that they respond to the impacts of climate change on biodiversity conservation. Much as Murchison Falls National Park has river Nile as a permanent water body, some parts of the park still lack water for animals, and it is one of the causes of their movement outside protected areas which has eventually led to human-wildlife conflict.
Mr. Kato, the Warden in Charge of Ecological Monitoring, says they have dug water holes permanently to respond to drought which are scattered across all over the park to ensure that animals stay within the ecosystem in the National Parks.
Audio Two: Mr. Kato…speaking about the mitigation strategy.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority Communications Manager Hangi Bashir says water bodies drying up and flooding across the national park due to climate change is still a big issue in conservation “Some of the animals get stacked in the mud during flooding, which has been causing death to some animals in the park, but we are working hard to minimize such”.
Murchison Falls National Park has the northern side covered up with woodland –full of forests. The increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to higher carbon-dioxide uptake in plants, which can increase herbicide resistance (Carbon Sink).
The Uganda Wildlife Authority is currently turning the conserved forests into carbon trade in an effort to reduce the impact of climate change in the national park. The then Acting Chief Warden of Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Dr Margret Driciru says. “This is where they come and access the volume of carbon that you can conserve, and then they pay you for it, when we conserve the trees, climate change effect will reduce”.
Importance of Conserving Nile Crocodiles:
Murchison Falls National Park is the largest and one of the most visited of Uganda’s parks known for its abundant wildlife including African buffalo, Ugandan kob, hippopotamus, Nile crocodile, African bush elephants, African leopard, lion, and chimpanzee. It is home to 95 mammal species and over 610 bird species. Over the past five years.
The Nile crocodile is one of those species in the National Parks boosting tourism as one of the leading sectors in contributing to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over a couple of years and Uganda Uganda Wildlife Authority has all the sane reasons to ensure their breeding grounds are protected for the County’s tourism wealth.
Murchison Falls Conservation Area Chief Warden Kizza Fredrick says there is a need to urgently protect the species of Crocodiles to boost tourism and future generations. Nile Crocodiles are not endangered and are listed as species of least concern on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Audio three: Kizza Fredrick speaks to the Elephant on the phone about Conservation.
