The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The treasures of the World’s Mountains are under severe threats of climate change, the United Nations’ Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned.
The UN Environment agency says communities which live in mountain regions near wildlife and are dependent on crops and livestock face great hardships as dry seasons are getting longer and water for irrigation scarcer.
“Conflicts over natural resources between local mountain communities and animals are also increasing” it warns in a statement issued to commemorate the International Mountain Day celebrated on December 11 on Wednesday.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) located in Kathmandu, Nepal says it found new evidence that elevation dependent warming, a phenomenon where warming is amplified with Mountain elevation is occurring around the World.
The Center drew its conclusion after studying the effects of global warming on the Hindu Kush Himalaya, critical biosphere for moderation of the global climate.
It published its assessment report saying “globally important assets will disappear if the earth is allowed to continue warming at the current rate beyond 1.5 degrees”.
“The warming will be too hot for the Mountains and their ecosystems” it added. The Himalaya is home to a quarter of the world population as it is hosts to 240 million people.
According to the International Mountain Center, elevation dependent warming will have consequences for water systems around mountains as their snow-capped glaciers melt away, affecting rivers and lakes having their water catchments on those Mountains.
It is important to note that Elevation Dependent warming contradicts the natural phenomena of the higher you go the cooler it becomes.
Their findings have informed UNEP to implement a new biodiversity protection project in Uganda aiming at saving some of the mountain treasures of the country including the Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National Parks.
Dubbed the “Vanishing Treasures”, the Project will span the borderline into Rwanda to protect the Biodiversity of Virunga National Parks.
It is unclear how much it will cost or when it will start but UNEP says the project will work with the authorities and adjacent communities to understand the diverse impacts of climate change on communities and gorillas and their habitats, as well as current and possible future vulnerabilities and responses.
The pilot project will address human-wildlife conflict, create sustainable buffer zones and improve land management, among other interventions to ultimately ensure the coexistence of people and wildlife.
“Despite significant research, there remain knowledge gaps about the impact of climate change on mountain gorillas and surrounding human communities,” says UNEP great apes’ expert Johannes Refisch.
The Uganda National Environment Authority (NEMA) reports that the Rwenzori snow cap is shrinking under the pressure of climate change. It is also known that plant flowering patterns are changing with shifting weather conditions, affecting animal feeding and nutrition.
On Tuesday, Dr. Mary Goretti Kitutu, the State Minister for Environment told the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change that Uganda will require 22 trillion shillings to adapt to climate change in the run up to 2050.
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