Forty Years of Climate and Land-Cover Change and its Effects on Tourism Resources in Kilimanjaro National Park

Abstract

This study explores the effects of observed changes in rainfall, temperature and land cover on the physical and sightseeing aspects of trekking in Kilimanjaro National Park. The impact analysis is organised around hazard-activity pairs approach, combinations of environmental change aspects (such as higher temperatures) and tourism activities (such as trekking and sightseeing). The results suggest that higher temperatures and reduced rainfall have lowered the risks of landslides, rock fall and mountain sickness, improving physical trekking conditions. Changes in land cover have affected sightseeing: there now are more flowers and groundsels to admire and less wildlife, waterfalls and snow. In the short term, the disappearing snow may give rise to "last chance tourism", increasing visitation, but eventually, the loss of snow and forest cover will likely decrease the number of tourists. The paper concludes that effective management of the attractions in the expanding heathlands is the most promising option to limit the losses.

A 3000-year record of vegetation changes and fire at a high-elevation wetland on Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

“…In the interim years, there had been a steady decline in millet production in favor of newer commercial cultivars, such as maize, wheat, and coffee, and a decrease in investment in irrigation in the uplands concomitant with a major expansion in agricultural activity on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro (Tagseth, 2006; Bender, 2016; Chuhila, 2016). Satellite-observed remote-sensing products available since the 1970s support observations that decadal-scale variability at the ecotonal gradients between montane forest and ericaceous vegetation cover are highly dynamic and are driven by fire (Wood, 1965b; Hemp, 2005a, 2005b; Chuhila, 2016; Detsch et al, 2016; Kilungu et al, 2019). Several lines of evidence support rapid (decadal scale) changes to vegetation cover on Kilimanjaro's slopes.…”

“…The legacies of land-use activities such as honey gathering, hunting, and grazing as well as delineating sacred spaces to preserve them from resource extraction have, however, had influences on the mountain's vegetation cover patterns (Kikoti et al, 2015). More recently, ecotourism has become a major industry in northern Tanzania (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2002; Kilungu et al, 2019) and is currently the main high-elevation land-use activity on Kilimanjaro, increasing the risk of introducing new exotic and invasive plant species (Hemp, 2008). Evidence from nearby savannah ecosystems suggests that introduced plant species often radiate from roadsides and refuse areas that service the ecotourism industries (Bukombe et al, 2015a, 2015b).…”

“…Rapid changes to thermal and hydroclimatic regimes have modified the cloudiness, precipitation, and glacial dynamics at high elevations on Kilimanjaro (Thompson et al, 2002, 2009; Mölg and Hardy, 2004; Chan et al, 2008; Park et al, 2012), and the areal extent of glacial ice has reduced over the past century (Geilinger, 1936; Downie, 1964; Hastenrath and Greischar, 1997; Cullen et al, 2006; Mote and Kaser, 2007). Hydroclimatic variability modifies the upper montane soils and vegetation of eastern African mountains (Coe, 1967; Spence, 1989; Young and Peacock, 1992; Mizuno, 1998, 2005; Mizuno and Fujita, 2014), which influences downslope environments (Munger, 1952; Mathooko and Mavuti, 1992) and links highland-lowland ecosystems (Maro, 1988; Chuhila, 2016; de Bont, 2018; Kilungu et al, 2019). Montane forest hydroclimate is also influenced by anthropogenic land-use and land-cover changes at lower elevations owing to vegetation-atmosphere interactions (Fairman et al, 2011).…”

“…Montane forest hydroclimate is also influenced by anthropogenic land-use and land-cover changes at lower elevations owing to vegetation-atmosphere interactions (Fairman et al, 2011). This highland-lowland connectivity creates cascading effects on ecosystem functions and services and amplifies human-environment feedback with socioeconomic and political ramifications (Tagseth, 2008; Mahonge, 2010; Sébastien, 2010; Komakech and de Bont, 2018; Kilungu et al, 2019).…”

Cryptic intermediate snail host of the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica in Africa

“…A prime example is the endemic in the Andean Altiplano [14, 64]. Although high mountainous regions are still considerably remote and less densely populated in Africa, there is a growing demand for land and thus humans increasingly occupying high elevations [65]. Even touristic activities such as trekking and mountain climbing are on the rise in basically all the mountain ranges where G. mweruensis occurs so further surveillance is warranted.…”