L'Italia, l'Etiopia e Lét Marefià

Ethiopia represents one of the most mountainous Countries in Africa. Thanks to the isolation from other mountain systems of the Continent and thanks to markedly differentiated geomorphological, altitudinal, climatic and environmental conditions, the Ethiopian highlands are characterized by a high plant and animal endemism rate. For this reason and for lose of at least 70% of their original habitat, they are considered one of the 34 «biodiversity hotspots» in the world. Moreover, they where home to some of the most ancient agro-pastoral cultures in Africa, that deeply modified the original environments and landscapes. However, several mountain places have remained relatively undisturbed by human pressures, such as the Bale Massif, some deep gorges, steep and rocky slopes and basaltic cliffs of rugged Simien Mountains, various blocks in the more remote and underpopulated regions of South-West of the Country and some particular localities in the Ankober highlands, where the evergreen and semi-evergreen montane and submontane forests of Déns and Fekheriè-Ghemb contribute to form one of the most important forest system in the eastern scarp of the Amhara plateau. Several bioclimatic belts are present in the Ankober area and have been identified since millennia by the local people by the Amharic epithets weyna degà (submontane belt), degà (montane belt) e wurch (highest altitude belt). Today they appear like in the descriptions of the naturalist Orazio Antinori (Perugia 1811-Lét Marefià 1882) who lived there since 1876 to 1882. Although a high animal biodiversity could be supported by the pristine habitats of the Ankober highlands, it remains poor-investigated and poor-known. Here we report the records of 15 bird endemic species, some of them vulnerable or near-threatened by risk of extinction, and several interesting mammal species for the area (direct observations carried out in the time span 2006-2009). The University Centre for Scientific Museums (Centro di Ateneo per i Musei Scientifici - CAMS) of the University of Perugia and the Italian Geographic Society (Società Geografica Italiana), in collaboration with the Ethiopian Authorities, are planning the foundation of a Study Centre on Mountain Biodiversity in the Ankober Region. The project is aimed to reach several goals: first, continuing the work of Orazio Antinori, whose collected samples are part of some of the most prestigious Italian natural history museums and have both a great historical and conservation value; second, re-establishing and enforcing the cultural and scientific relationship between the Italian and the Ethiopian communities; third, exhorting scientific research to improve knowledge about the local biodiversity and to develop sustainable management of the territory; fourth, promoting awareness of the importance of natural resource safeguard among local people; fifth, supporting local economy by promoting a «scientific» tourism. Currently another project has been started to restructure and enlarge the Primary School of Déns, the main one of the area, in order to support the public education, keystone for people development and for conservation and valorisation of the natural heritage of a community.