Well thirsty

The landscape in and around the Game Reserve where we work in south-western South Sudan is aesthetically very nice; a patchwork of open areas (burned in the dry season and bright green grassland in the wet) and dense forest. Wildlife is hard to see but there is a plethora. Charles is ahead of me in the grass, with a pink headscarf fashioned to protect against tsetse fly.

Nicolas hasn't been here before yet is taking on management of the programme so experiencing the forest is critical. We spent all day in the forest and climbed a hill which was fantastic for appreciating the undisturbed landscape. Over recent weeks Ivan has been completing an exercise towards boundary demarcation, which this Reserve has never had ever since it was gazetted as a protected area by the British in the 1920s. Everyone wants clarity on where the boundary is so it can be adequately protected, and the first stage has been to record the community's viewpoint. This has entailed arduous fieldwork slashing through dense bush, with a group of old men from the closest communities, marking waypoints. After this we will present the community boundary map for consideration by government authorities, and help to resolve any disagreements. We walked and slashed parts of the community boundary so the day was a useful contribution to the demarcation process and less a simple jolly.

The evening was filled by a heavy downpour and then negotiations with a man called Seraphim from nearby Central African Republic who wants to complete the building of a well which we are funding for the rangers and small community nearby. Water access in the dry season has proven to be fairly challenging and fieldwork at this time of the year entails finding murky puddles in the forest, adding a chlorine tablet, and praying. Two Congolese men didn't complete the well as agreed so we're cautious to understand all costs, materials and stages. With much discussion flying around in Zande, French and English, we reached a satisfactory resolution by the end of the evening, via confusion, bemusement and befuddlement.

If people haven't got biblical names like Seraphim or Gabriel or Isiah, they often have very Italian-sounding names such as Tartizio. Often a combination of both such as Arcangelo. Among the rangers stationed at our field site we have an Arcangelo and a Gabriel. The Italian Catholic missionaries in this region did a thorough job.