Although much of the threat to Kilimanjaro’s snowpack has been link to climate change, this does not mean that its effects cannot be mitigated or even reversed.  True, it will take a lot of cooperation and quite a while to see the results, but that does not mean that it is not worth doing.  We can make a change and it will take all of us humans to learn and act in whatever little way possible.  As better than organic farmer Joel Salatin says, “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first.”  His example is that of a new toddler.  When the baby uses a piece of furniture to wobbly stand itself up and then shakily try to cross the living room, we don’t scold the child and say, “If you’re not going to do it right, don’t do it at all”,  we ooh and ahh and praise the child.  Someone did it for us and we all walk most of the day without falling down (maybe that’s just me). 

However, there are local (African) threats to Mt. Kilimanjaro.  The main threat sited by the United Nations Environmental Programme on the southern slopes of the mountain relate to the loss of forests from fires and illegal logging.   The group also points out that Mt. Kilimanjaro’s extensive forests with high rainfall make it a large catchment for both Kenya’s and Tanzania’s water with 96% of the water coming from Kili coming from the tree belt area.  http://www.unep.org/dewa/Assessments/Ecosystems/Land/ThreatstoMtKilimanjaroforests/tabid/6966/Default.aspx

Logging with re-plantation of non-indigenous species on the northern slopes offer similar problems.

In regards to the deforestation of the slopes, further development and strength in the national park’s enforcement of its boundaries would help, however much the deforestation is for subsistence cooking fuel and tree poaching for plantation or construction.  Basically the locals are trying to fight their poverty without a concept of the long term consequences.  Education should be the more focused tool, but also providing other means of earning a living such as the responsible tourism practices (like the guiding services and lodges mentioned in previous blogs).  Another way to combat deforestation is to try and only use woods or wood manufactured products that can be verified that they come from sustainable and fair labor/trade sources.  The two most recognized international certification programs for sustainable wood and forest source goods are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) (both international and U.S)  https://ic.fsc.org/ and  Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (EU based) http://www.pefc.org/.  Visit their sites to learn more about sustainable forest initiatives, how they certify and you can even donate to these groups.  

Besides only harvesting good woods, we can help replace what has been taken with tree planting programs and organizations.  One mentioned in a previous blog is the Kilimanjaro Eco Lodge where tree planting trips can be scheduled into your stay.  Another would be to volunteer or donate to groups such as the Kilimanjaro Environmental Conservation Management Trust Fund http://www.kilimanjarotrust.org/index.html.   The Trust Fund identifies six areas of concern; Land degradation, Inadequate water supply, Pollution, Habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity, Deterioration of aquatic systems, Deforestation and Frequent forest fires, that they try to address with their programs and reforestation efforts.

Please remember, that although it seems like everyone asks for money, 1) a healthy donation is still cheaper than flying to Africa (and a smaller carbon footprint) and 2) money is a tool that is extremely versatile and does not spoil.  It can be used in a variety of ways that time and muscle may not meet.

So as with all aspects of things you care about, be thoughtful, research where your money is going, whether it is a guide, food, lodge or where to donate and make it count. 

The other home front effort that anyone and everyone should be carrying out and getting a little better at everyday is to try and lower your carbon footprint in the thousands of ways we know.  It truly is the Butterfly Effect that  you unplugging your computer or turning on a fan instead of the A/C  in Utah, the U.S. or wherever may keep the Snows of Kilimanjaro around just a little longer.  

Thanks for your efforts in advance!

Climate change is driving the loss of the snows on Kilimanjaro.   As glaciologist Lonnie Thompson from Ohio State University in Columbus points out in an article from the National Geographic News Service online, it is the melting of the glaciers from the margins and periphery, but also the thinning of the ice packs (John Roach, NG News, Nov. 2 , 2009).  To quote the article:

Thompson and his colleagues have studied Kilimanjaro's dwindling ice for several decades.

The mountain, they say, has lost 85 percent of its glacial ice since 1912. What's more, 26 percent of the ice that remained in 2000 was gone by 2007, the last time Kilimanjaro's ice was precisely mapped.

They also state that up to 50% of the glaciers thickness has disappeared since 2000, and the mountain could be ice free as early as 2018.

This melting is coming from increased temperatures in the region as well as changes in the amount of precipitation also affected by temperature.  There is also a study that is beginning to link weather changes to deforestation in a 2,000 mile area around the mountain (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110305112136.htm).  Although not conclusive either way in the ongoing study, this is only another factor that may be teamed up with weather patterns generated off the Indian Ocean.

Having pointed out some of the concerns about Mt Kili, I would also like to introduce you to another endangered African National Park.  This park is Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/137/) .   This area of tropical rainforest that has a long list of unique flora and fauna (the most notable charismatic mega-fauna being the low land gorilla) faces many challenges.   When it comes to the five successfully sustainable management principles, it fails to collaborate with the local populace with no real fit between its communities and tourism. Probably the saddest component is that it has no way to protect its natural resources.  UNESCO recalls that since the parks’ inception there has been strife from villagers that were incorporated into the park as well as no delineated boundaries to protect from deforestation and oil exploration as a means to combat poverty in the region.  War, political instability and its refugees have fled into the forests as they were displaced have also affected the parks with resource use and degradation.   Enforcement is also minimal as the parks are described as “under-staffed”. 

 It is probably not a fair comparison, but a completely different biome can be managed in a much more successful manner.  As a huge underwater ecosystem (able to be seen from space) The Great Barrier Reef off of the coast of Australia has different protections in that it can be treated somewhat like an island by the protecting government http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154.   Although, it is not truly isolated like an island might be, it is actually guarded by many overlapping jurisdictions.  It has the local government of Queensland, as well as being a Federal Marine Park overseeing and cooperating in its use and study. This is collaboration to protect its resources also helps manage it as a learning and research area as well as recreational multi-use resource.  Besides boating and diving, overseeing agencies also set guidelines for travel, shipping, fishing/harvesting and sea dumping.  They also engage the indigenous cultures with Traditional Use of Marine Resource Agreements (TUMRAs) and Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) to support Traditional Owners to maintain cultural connections with their sea country.  Although the reef is actually soaking in the ocean and all the environmental changes that can be passed through it (pollution, rising sea temperatures and invasive species blooms), it is the strong and multilayered cooperative that protects this biome and ensures its enjoyment by all.