Kilimanjaro

As climate change effects are now being better understood, there are few examples more visually demonstrative of these changes than Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Mount Kilimanjaro is located between several national parks (Amboseli National Park and Tsavo West National Park in Kenya, and Kilimanjaro National Park and Arusha National Park in Tanzania) and stands as Africa’s tallest point at 19,340 feet (5,895 m). Ironically, the term “Kilimanjaro” comes from the Swahili term “Kilima” meaning “little hill” and “njaro” meaning white or shining, referring to the ice cap at the summit.

The mountain’s unique location and status as a protected area allows for grasslands and forests to flourish near the base of the mountain providing an important geological feature for thousands of plant and animal species in the surrounding ecosystem.

The iconic image of elephants standing in front of the snow-covered mountain is slowly fading as the ice now melts at a rate that will likely lead to the disappearance of the cap within a generation’s time. Beyond the loss of an icon for the East African terrain, the glacier’s melt will presumably create several problems in the area regarding conflict, human health, and biodiversity. First, there will likely be a problem of access to water. Right now, the melted ice provides an important water source for the surrounding farms and biodiversity; elephants, for example, will travel up to 50 miles to the foot of the mountain to get fresh water. As the ice melts, though water seems to be plentiful at the base, the source will no longer be sustainable. Those near the mountain fear competition will grow over whom or what gets priority to the water and could potentially lead to conflicts between not only tribes, but also species. Second, the rate of the melting is providing ground water faster than it can be used, causing farms to flood and ruin harvests. This disruption is devastating to the local health and economy to the people depending on these crops.

Though the current state can be discouraging, governments and citizens are quickly understanding the damage done and are willing to become creative and optimistic in dealing with these issues. Policies are being proposed to allocate water as fairly as possible while also encouraging education to people most affected by these dramatic changes. For many in East Africa, Kilimanjaro symbolizes a call to action against climate change.
 

Related Resources:

Global Environmental Change Series: Biodiversity
Climographs: Temperature, Precipitation, and the Human Condition
Food and Water Supplies Under Stress

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Photo Credits: Roshan Patel (Front Page),  Roshan Patel (Above)