The
first African Mountains Regional Forum has started at Ngurdoto Mountain
Lodge in Arusha, Tanzania. The three-day forum to take place from
October 22-24 is to provide an opportunity for different sustainable
mountain development stakeholders to enhance understanding of common
conservation and development issues in the region.
The
forum is organized by the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS)
and the Africa Mountain Partnership Champions Committee (AMPCC) in
partnership with the East African Community (EAC), United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), and other partners. Participants from
African government institutions, academia, civil society, media and the
private sector are in attendance.
Dr. Sam Kanyamibwa, the executive director of ARCOS, called the meeting “a celebration of the fragile mountain ecosystem.”
Hon.
Magessa Mulogo, the Arusha Regional Commissioner in a statement
delivered by the District Commissioner Arumeru District, Mr. Deus
Munasa, said Tanzania is well endowed with mid-range mountains including
Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, which attracts more than
35,000 climbers a year.
“Mt.
Kilimanjaro is also a home to some 1.5 million people with nearly three
quarters depending on its rich nature resources for water, food and
medicinal herbs,” he said.
He
added, “Despite all these positive attributes, projections from various
studies suggest that ice on Mount Kilimanjaro is receding and that if it
continues at the present rate, the majority of the remaining glaciers
on the mountain could vanish with dire consequences for the neighbouring
communities.”
Hon.
Jesca Eriyo, Deputy Secretary General (Productive and Social Sectors),
East African Community, said the East African region has renown
trans-boundary mountainous ecosystems including Africa’s highest
mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro at 5,400m at the border of Tanzania and Kenya,
the Mt. Elgon, which bestride Kenya and Uganda; the Virunga shared by
Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amongst other
national mountainous areas such as Mt. Kenya, Mt. Rwenzori in Uganda,
Mt. Meru in Tanzania, Mt. Karisimbi in Rwanda.
“These
ecosystems support employment and income for the communities drawing
their livelihoods from the ecosystems and their services,” she said.
Hon.
Eriyo revealed that the EAC, through the Lake Victoria Basin Commission
(LVBC) is implementing a number of projects in the region’s mountain
ecosystems. One such project is the Mt. Elgon Regional Ecosystem
Conservation Programme (MERECP).
“The
aim of the project is to promote sustainable use of shared natural
resources benefiting livelihoods and mitigating and adapting to
anticipated climate change impacts in the Mt. Elgon ecosystem by 2015,”
said Hon.Eriyo. The MERECP is funded by the governments of the Royal
Kingdom of Norway and Sweden.
Chapter
13 of Agenda 21 recognizes mountains as important sources of water,
energy, minerals, forest and agricultural products and areas of
recreation and “storehouses of biological diversity, home to endangered
species and an essential part of the global ecosystem.”
Mountains
cover 25 percent of the world’s land surface, and directly support 12
percent of the world’s population living within mountain regions, while
about 40 per cent occupies watershed areas below. Mountains contribute
an estimated 80% of downstream river flow, a main source of hydropower.
Mountain
people, who are among the poorest in the world, are key to maintaining
these mountain ecosystems and the need for action to alleviate poverty
in mountain regions.
Through
their watershed function, mountains supply more than half of humanity
with water for drinking, irrigation, industry, food and energy
production. The degradation of mountain ecosystem services has severe
consequences for livelihoods and environments of downstream regions.
Mr.
Robert Wabunoha, the legal officer at United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), noted that despite their importance throughout human
history and their wealth of resources, mountains have only recently
begun to attract the attention of political decision-makers and
planners.
“At
national level, most countries do not have specific policies, laws or
institutions simply because they have not been recognized as unique
ecosystems that might require special attention,” he said, and added,
“this situation requires Africa’s immediate action and commitment in
moving towards mountain governance and formulation of mountain specific
laws, policies and institutions.
Their
widespread and trans-boundary nature, also calls for regional
cooperation in addressing this issues.” UNEP is supporting the
preparation of the first African mountain atlas.
Experts
at the forum are proposing policies and actions to protect and maintain
fragile mountain ecosystems. These include promotion of sustainable use
of mountains in order to ensure their global water supply function and
to enhance their ability to moderate the impacts of climate change and
natural hazards for the benefit of mankind.
They
have also called for support of the concept of payment of ecosystem
services (PES) for the benefit of mountain communities who provide these
valuable ecosystem services to downstream users.
The African Mountains Regional Forum ends on Friday.
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