The SMNP, located in the zone of North Gondar of the Amhara National Regional State (ANRS), lies within the four woredas of Debark, Adiarkay, Janamora and Teselmit, and now borders 38 kebeles. Formal management of the area began with the establishment of the first national wildlife institution, the Department of Forestry, Game and Fishery within the then Ministry of Agriculture, in 1944. At that time, the concept of wildlife conservation was viewed as primarily the regulation of wildlife hunting. Thus, prior to 1960s the current area of SMNP was managed as a controlled hunting area and regarded as a Royal hunting ground (Falch, 2000). Later, asIn the mean time, with increasing land use pressure and hunting activities, the need to conserve the resources through establishment of wildlife conservation areas became apparent. According to Misgina (1991), this issue was further elaborated by the Ethiopian Delegation who attended a UNESCO General Conference held in Paris in 1962: "it is our wish to manage and develop national parks and wildlife reserves in such a way as to secure the preservation of their flora and fauna, provide centers of biological and ecological research, and contribute to the growth of the national economy, especially through the development of tourism and game cropping”. Apparently, two UNESCO missions which have visited the country in 1963 and 65 have given an advice on and assisted with identification of those areas which are suitable for establishment of national parks and wildlife reserves.
In the mean time, with increasing land use pressure and hunting activities, the need to conserve the resources through establishment of wildlife conservation areas became apparent. According to Misgina (1991), this issue was further elaborated by the Ethiopian Delegation who attended a UNESCO General Conference held in Paris in 1962: "it is our wish to manage and develop national parks and wildlife reserves in such a way as to secure the preservation of their flora and fauna, provide centers of biological and ecological research, and contribute to the growth of the national economy, especially through the development of tourism and game cropping”. Apparently, two UNESCO missions which have visited the country in 1963 and 65 have given an advice on and assisted with identification of those areas which are suitable for establishment of national parks and wildlife reserves.
asasas land use pressure and hunting activities increased in the country, the need to conserve the resources through establishment of wildlife conservation areas became apparent. According to Misgina (1991), the issue was expressed formally by the Ethiopian Delegation who attended a UNESCO General Conference held in Paris in 1962, saying "it is our wish to manage and develop national parks and wildlife reserves in such a way as to secure the preservation of their flora and fauna, provide centres of biological and ecological research, and contribute to the growth of the national economy, especially through the development of tourism and game cropping”. Thereafter, two UNESCO missions visited the country in 1963 and 1965 and based on their findings, the SMNP was formally established in 1966.
The park was originally managed by the former Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Organisation (EWCO) within the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD). Until 1977, the day-to-day management of the park was led by expatriate wardens supported by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the American Peace Corps. In 1978, the park was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Following this, in 1981, intensive technical assistance was provided to SMNP for the development of a management plan (Hurni, 1986) and scout training. Although extensive baseline data were collected, the management plan was never implemented due to civil war between the previous Marxist military government and opposition groups between 1976 and 1991. Park management resumed after the war, in 1991, with reconstruction of the severely damaged park infrastructure. In 1997, under the decentralization process of the government, the Ethiopian Government transferred management responsibility for SMNP from EWCO to the Amahara National Regional State (ANRS). ANRS established the semi-autonomous Amhara Parks Development and Protection Authority (PaDPA) which took over management of the SMNP. As of 1997, the budget for park development and running costs has been provided by PaDPA, with substantial financial assistance to the park and local communities from the Austrian Government through the joint Austrian-Ethiopian Integrated Development Project (SMNP-IDP).
Development of another general management plan for the park commenced in 2000 and again in 2006, but neither drafts were finalised or endorsed. This GMP is based on the process and drafts produced in 2006.
The walia ibex (Capra ibex walie) was formally recorded in 1835 by the explorer Rüppell. Due to its restricted range and low population numbers, the species was included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 1963 and is now listed as “Endangered’. Although there is no general agreement on the taxonomy of the Caprinae, the walia ibex is generally considered to be a distinct species, based on its anatomy, habitat and isolation. It is therefore considered endemic to the