Losing Our Crownby | 31-03-2015 02:01 |
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Relatively centrally located on our map, is the second highest mountain in Africa and the highest in Kenya recognized under UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It?s a vitally important water tower providing various ecosystem services to millions of people. The mountain and its ecosystem supports rich biodiversity as well as endangered species, all of which are threatened by the various pressures exerted on its ecosystems. Its location and the services it provides to man have on occasion prompted some to refer to it as the ?Heart and Lungs of Kenya?. Standing at over 5000 feet high with three major and a number of minor peaks covered in glistening white snow, is Mt. Kenya. However, this mountain, along with many others, is losing it white crown as a result of climate change. As we, as citizens of Earth, continue to pump various green house gases into the air, the earth?s temperature rises. It has been rising over a number of years and though the effects have been slow in showing, today we see the effects clearly and anticipate more in future should the trend not change. Some of the effects of climate change include rising of sea levels and flooded coastlines, loss of biodiversity, melting polar icecaps, acidified water and coral bleaching among many other effects. In Kenya, one of the already visible effects of climate change is the loss of glaciers on Mt. Kenya as a result of a lower rate of snow falling and a higher rate of ice melting. Of the 18 glaciers recorded in the late 1800s, only 10 are left today and with the current rate of melt, some scientists estimate that there will be none left within this century.  The loss of glaciers will affect the amount of water being released into springs that feed some of the rivers in Kenya and will also affect the various communities whose livelihoods depend on the tourist visits to the mountains. Kenya, along with other African countries, contributes very little to global greenhouse gas emissions, but is highly vulnerable to the impacts as seen in the form of glacial melt and extreme desertification rates among other effects. We should therefore strive to curb climate change and mitigate the effects it causes. A few of the ways we can do this can be found here. More information about the glacial melt of Mt. Kenya and other African mountains can be found in the 2012 UNEP report: Africa Without Glaciers. |
