Abstract:
Seméne Mountains National Park (SMNP) was created formally (administered) in 1966 and
received legal gazetment in 1969. Again, in 1978 the park was inscribed as a World Heritage
Site in UNESCO based on the fulfillment of its two important criteria’s. Among a large
mammals, the Walia Ibex, Ethiopian Wolf (Red Fox) and Gelada Baboon are the flagship of
SMNP. Since its establishment, SMNP was not free from human settlement. This in return
affected the resources and management of the Park. Until 1977, due to lack of administration
experiences, expatriate wardens administered the park mainly from Switzerland. Nevertheless,
after 1977 to 1991 the administration system of the park halted due to the civil war of the
country. The civil war especially which took place in 1989- 91 of the region was heavely
damaged its resources and infrastructures. The park is bordering six Wäräda’s namely
Däbareqe town administration, Däbareqe Wäräda, Jänamora, Țälemet, Bäyäda and Adi
Arekaye. At the beginning, the administrative center of the park was at Saneka Bäre, which is the
central part (core zone) of the park. However, later due to the political instability of the region,
they shifted towards the nearest town of Däbareqe. In the nearest past, the management of the
park was authoritarian styles, where the local communities were not allowed to involve and
participate in decision making and conservation systems of the park. Because of these, the local
communities living in/around the park developed a negative impact against the existence of the
park even though there were innocent people to protect the park and its habitats. After the end of
the civil war, unlike in the past the new government with relation to non-governmental
organizations, started to reinstate the park. To ensure the long term of the conservation of the
park, the government are developed multi-disciplinary approaches, which integrate local
communities and relevant stakeholders in ways to reconcile the existing resource use conflict.
However, due to the destruction of the SMNP resources and its habitats in the previous periods,
in 1996 UNESCO registered the park in the World Heritage in Danger List.