Yemaytsura Abune Gebremenfes
Kidus Andinat
The monastery abandoned in the early part of the 20th
century has now been reactivated in the 1990s. The majority of the main island
is under cultivation but species rich woodland exist at the water edge. The area
is also important for wildlife. Expansion of agriculture is the main threat to
the remaining woody vegetation.
Two km upstream from the Blue Nile Falls there is a large network of
islands of varying sizes, interconnecting river channels and rapids. The main
islands to the East belong to the Yemaytsura Abune Gebremenfes Kidus Andinat
monastery. Access to the main monastic island is via a small boat across of the
river’s main channel.
They are extensively cultivated and many crops are
irrigated using water pumped from the river channel. Along the water’s edge
there is often a 5-10 m buffer zone composed of native vegetation. Smaller
islands are still covered with semi-natural vegetation, but clearly these
islands were once logged as indicated by large decaying stumps.
The surrounding countryside is extremely poor in
woody vegetation cover. Even the area around the Blue Nile Falls has only some
secondary scrubby vegetation. All forest has long gone. There is also a major
settlement between the islands and the falls on the southern side of the river.
History
It is unclear when the monastery was first
established, but by the early 20th century the impact of malaria on
the monastic community became so severe that the site was abandoned. Until the
mid 1990s area was used for cattle grazing, then a priest decided to
re-establish the monastery single-handedly. Since the community has steadily
increased in numbers while the agricultural areas have been put back into
production and some areas converted into a coffee plantation.
Conservation status
The
monastic islands and others on the Blue Nile are of great biological importance
for both plants and animals. On the small island (about 1/3rd ha)
where the biodiversity assessment was carried out over 40 species of woody
plants were recorded. Fruit bats rust in the trees and many bird species were
observable both inside the woodlands and on the various Nile channels.
Much of the main island (white area on image overleaf) is
cultivated. This involves a modern irrigation system that enables the monastery
community to grow cash corps.
The semi-natural woodland was heavily logged in former
times. It is now mostly scrub with no ground vegetation although the island is
totally surrounded by water.
Many water channels run through the islands and contain much
wildlife.
Threats
Agricultural expansion
is currently the only threat to the remaining natural vegetation. The small
island, where the biodiversity assessment was carried out, is due to converted
into an orange grove. As the monastery population increases, demand for
firewood will steadily increase and the riverine trees will become the main
source of wood as trees in the agricultural areas will all have been cut down.
Management
The monastery is trying to be
self-sustaining and in order to achieve this, it has to produce enough
vegetable crops to both support its own needs as well as sell them to the
outside world for cash. Instead of converting more of the natural vegetation
into food production the monastery should:
a. improve
current agricultural practices including irrigation.
b. focus
on ecotourism. The monastery is next to the Blue Nile Falls visited by many
tourists, which to many is a bit of a disappointment especially as far natural
history is concerned whereas the monastery islands have an array of plant and
animals. The monastic community could easily charged visitors and make more
money that way than by selling vegetables.
In order to promote better
agriculture and establish ecotourism, the monastery, however, requires expert
advice and support.
