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https://theconversation.com/namibia-and-angolas-remote-ovahimba-mountains-reveal-a-haven-for-unique-plants-new-survey-213884>
"The Kaokoveld region, covering north-western Namibia and south-western Angola,
is one of the remotest areas in southern Africa. Although it’s extremely dry,
it is a centre of species endemism: many species occur only there and nowhere
else on earth.
New species continue to be found, especially in the Ovahimba mountain range,
which runs parallel to the cold Atlantic ocean and is separated from it by the
gravel plains and dunes of the northern Namib Desert.
The highest mountain peaks of this range are so inhospitable and difficult to
access, because of the lack of roads and water, that few have ever scaled them.
The exceptions are local herders of the semi-nomadic Himba, who drive their
cattle and goats to richer pastures in the mountains during dry periods.
In 2021, I was part of a team of researchers from Namibia and Angola who aimed
to investigate the biodiversity and endemism on some of the most remote peaks.
We hypothesised that the mountain peaks harboured a large number of species,
especially plants, insects and reptiles. That’s because there’s a rapid change
in climate and topography (land features) from the hyper-arid, cool desert near
the coast and the arid and seasonally warmer plains further inland to the
cooler mountainous escarpment.
Through an EU-funded transfrontier conservation project, SCIONA, we had the
opportunity to use the only safe option to get to the Ovahimba mountain peaks:
a helicopter.
It is incredibly exciting to plan a trip to such a remote and beautiful
wilderness area where few people have intervened in the ecosystem."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
