Africa Geographic December 2002/January 2003 [antikvár]

brVWii','r ' 'i '' ¦ f ' Ml ¦ ! I . 'i " ¦ . 1' 1 ' .11 ;ii .1 Ml Editorial volume lo number 11 december 2002/1 anTÂ| Japan may seem an unlikely place to find out about conservation in Africa, but that's what happened when, as a guest of Swiss watchmaker Rolex, i visited Tokyo briefly to attend the presentation of their 2002 awards for enterprise. It was a wonderful celebration of good people doing good things, and was especially relevant for Africa because three of the five laureates are people working in African countries (see page 18). All the laureates are truly inspirational people and it was a privilege indeed to meet them and feel my own batteries recharging in the presence of their energy and determination to 'make things work' in the genuine interests of environments as a whole. In our lead story for this issue we visit Madagascar (see page 58) with Nick Garbutt to track down the golden-crowned sifaka, listed as one of the world's 25 most critically endangered primates. He finds them, more easily than he had expected, with the help of a Spanish conservationist and a village headman armed with a hand of bananas. Garbutt relates his adventure with Durrellesque humour, but also reveals the underlying causes of concern at habitat loss through slash-and-burn farming practice and mining for low-grade gold ore. Madagascar has suffered through recent political upheaval but now, with a new government in place, we are beginning to hear encouraging reports of stability and economic recovery - let's hope so and that sensitive, nature-based tourism can flourish in the interests of conservation and the quality of human life. Philip Briggs has been on the road again and visits Tanzania's Lake Manyara National Park (see page 84). Often Manyara is dismissed in a single game drive by safari groups hellbent on getting to Serengeti, but Briggs stayed for a week in this comparatively small refuge and discovered a remarkable diversity of habitats harbouring an equally remarkable diversity of animals. And yes, he did see Manyara's lions famed for their tree-climbing tendencies. Wildlife photographer Richard du Toit and March Turnbull have also been busy: the former in or, more accurately over, Botswana's Okavango Delta (see page 34) where his aerial sorties and consummate skill behind the camera provide a superb portfolio of haunting images; and the latter in Mozambique where he visits the newly proclaimed Pare Nacional das Quirimbas with WWF Internalional and finds that things work, well, slightly differently there. Finally, and because ihe Christmas season is upon us - a time when our home-base of Cape Town is inundated with welcome visitors - we thought we would stir your senses with some powerful images by the French-born Capetonian Alain Proust (see page 70) who has almost turned the many moods of Table Mountain into his personal signature. Which reminds me: recent press reports point to a certain breed of Table Mountain pilgrims who leave a different form of signature - they seem to think it's OK to carve bits off the mountain as mementos. Such thoughtlessness is not acceptable. It was a privilege indeed to meet the Rolex laureates and feel my own batteries recharging in the presence of their energy and determination to 'make things work' Atrica Geographic is edilorially and financially independent. It enjoys the support and endorsement of several non-government organisations, but il is not affiliated in any way to these bodies or to any other publishing, environmental or political Interest group. Alrica Geographic strives to foster an awareness of wildlife, conservation, eco-lravel, indigenous cultures and the general environment. It consistenlly advocates the wisest use of natural resources in a manner that involves and is of real benefit to the people of Africa. Africa Geographic is published 11 times a year by Black Eagle Publishing, an independent organisation owned by its shareholders and directors: Peter Borchert, Simon Espley and Murray jackson.