AFRICAN MOUNTAINS STATUS REPORT ALBERTINE RIFT CONSERVATION SOCIETY Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS) Africa Mountains Status Report Produced by the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS) with fi nancial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Legal notice Th e contents of this publication do not necessarily refl ect the offi cial opinions of the Albertine Rift Conservation Society. Copyright notice ©ARCOS Network, Kampala (Uganda) and Cambridge (UK), 2014. Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated. Suggested Citation Alweny S., Nsengiyumva P., and Gatarabirwa W. (2014). Africa Sustainable Mountain Development Technical Report No. 1, ARCOS, October 2014. Cover Photo Credit: ARCOS Network or as indicated Front cover Image: Mount Karisimbi, Rwanda. Photo Credit: ARCOS is page image: Mountain Gorilla - Photo/ WWF UK For any further information contact: Albertine Rift Conservation Society, African Mountains Programme Email: [email protected] Disclaimer Th e ideas presented in this publication do not necessarily refl ect the offi cial position of the Albertine Rift Conservation Society. Th e designations employed and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of ARCOS concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Any errors and misrepresentations are highly regretted. CONTENTS Preface 5 Executive Summary 6 CHAPTER 1 8 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF AFRICAN MOUNTAINS 8 1.1 ORIGIN AND DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF AFRICA’S MAJOR MOUNTAINS 8 1.1.1 Mount Kenya in Kenya 9 1.1.2 Mount Kilimanjaro 9 1.1.3 The Drakensberg Mountain Range in Southern Africa 10 1.1.4 The Fouta Djallon mountain range 10 1.1.5 Madagascar highlands 11 CHAPTER 2 12 AFRICAN MOUNTAIN ECOSYSTEM goods AND SERVICES 12 2.1. Fresh Water 13 2.2. Energy 14 2.3. Support to Agriculture 14 2.4. Biodiversity 14 2.5. Non-Timber Forest Products 14 2.6 Ecological Services 14 2.7 Formation of local area weather and rainfall 15 2.8 Carbon Sequestration 15 2.9 Tourism 15 CHAPTER 3 16 CHALLENGES AND DRIVERS OF CHANGES IN AFRICAN MOUNTAINS 16 3.1. DIRECT DRIVERS 16 3.1.1 Water conflicts 16-17 3.1.2 Deforestation 17-18 3.1.3 Mining in Mountain Areas 18-19 3.1.4 Mass Mountain Tourism 20 3.1.5 Livestock and Agriculture Production 20 3.1.6 Climate Change 20-21 3.2. INDIRECT DRIVERS 21 3.2.1 Population Growth and High Population Densities 21-22 3.2.2 Poor and Weak Management System 22 3.2.3 Poverty and Lack of Alternative Livelihood 22-23 3.2.4 Lack of Environmental Awareness amongst Local Communities 23 CHAPTER 4 24 MEETING THE CHALLENGES FOR AFRICAN MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES 24 4.1. Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change and Poverty Reduction 24-25 4.2. Integrated Water Resource Management 25 4.3 Ecotourism as a complement to Traditional Tourism 26 4.4. Payment for Ecosystem Services 26-27 4.5 Adaptable Protected Areas Network 27 4.6 Community Involvement in Sustainable Forest Management 27-28 4.7 Science and Technology 28 4.8 Creation of jobs 28 Africa Mountains Status Report No.1 3 CHAPTER 5 30 KEY POLICY QUESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION 30 5.1 Key Policy Issues in Mountains 30-31 5.2 Mountain Agenda in International and National Policies 32 5.3. Recommendations for Actions 32 REFERENCES 33-34 List of Figures Figure 1 Mountain Ecosystem Goods and Services 9 Figure 2: Some of the most important mountain areas for lowland water resources 11 Figure 3 Water Towers in Africa 12 Figure 4 The Albertine Rift Bioregion 14 Figure 5. River Basin Treaties and Institutions 20 Figure 6: Projected climate change Impacts for Agriculture in Africa, in potential cereal output for 2080 28 List of Boxes Box 1 Integrated Water Resource Management in Pangani River Basin, Tanzania 36 Box 2. The evolution and impacts of community-based ecotourism in northern Tanzania 37 Box 3. Research on impacts of climate change on montane ecosystems and services supporting food security in Eastern Africa 41 Africa Mountains Status Report No.1 4 Preface Despite the very evident policy framework in In 1992, heads place not only at the international, regional of government and national levels, African countries are doing of most of the very little to support the cause for Sustainable world’s nations Mountain Development. For example at national at the UN level, most African countries do not have Conference on specifi c policies or laws presumably because Environment mountains have not been recognised as unique a n d ecosystems that might require special attention. Development Dr. Sam Kanyamibwa (UNCED or During the Africa Mountains Partnership (AMP) Executive Director, ARCOS ‘Rio Earth members meeting organized by ARCOS in Summit’) signed collaboration with the Mountain Partnership a plan of action Secretariat, IUCN and UNEP in Kigali in known as ‘Agenda 21’ and Chapter 13 which February 2013, AMP members called for more focusses on ‘Managing Fragile Ecosystems: eff ort in mainstreaming mountains in countries Sustainable Mountain Development’. development agenda. To take this initiative forward, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Twenty years later at the UN Conference on (SDC) consequently, provided fi nancial support Sustainable Development (UNCSD) known as to ARCOS for implementing a pilot project Rio+20 was held in the same Brazilian city-Rio “Sustainable African Mountains. Exploratory de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012 and mountains Phase: Building Bridges between Policy and Science and their communities received renewed global for Sustainable Mountain Development” which attention, culminating to the inclusion of three developed to form part of a global programme paragraphs (210, 211, 212) of the UNCSD’s “Sustainable Mountain Development for Global Outcome Document entitled the “Future Change (SMD4GC)”, implemented by ARCOS We Want”, entirely dedicated to mountains. and other SDC Partners around the world. One of the key objectives of the SMD4GC programme is Other Multilateral Environmental Agreements to ¬launch instruments for Sustainable Mountain such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and Development (e.g. initiatives, actions, legislation). the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) recognize the biological, hydrological, cultural Despite their abundance in ecosystem goods and and socio-economic importance of mountain services, mountains remain among the ecosystems ecosystems and call for appropriate and timely poorest documented. Th ere is need for monitoring actions to improving the awareness, understanding and documentation, for enhancement of knowledge and management of their functions and values. of mountain processes and for improved capacities. Th ese critical gaps need to be closed in order to have At the Africa level, many countries, organizations, better informed stakeholders and policy-makers institutions and individuals are members of the that intend to shape global sustainable development. global partnership on sustainable development in mountains, the Partnership and are engaged in various Th e African Mountains Status Report provides initiatives to promote the cause of sustainability information on the status, trends and levels of mountain ecosystems and communities. of threats aff ecting mountain ecosystems and communities (including climate change, extractive Connected to this, in September 2012, at its 14th industries, natural disaster, water resources, land session, the African Ministerial Conference on use changes and food security) in Africa. Th e the Environment came up with “the Arusha process of compiling this report, started in August Declaration on Africa’s post Rio+20 Strategy for 2013 and benefi ted input from various experts, Sustainable Development” which made clear Mountain Partnership members and specialised reference to the sustainability of mountains in institutions that we take the opportunity to thank Africa. Th e AMCEN then asked the United Nations for their contribution in the development and Environment Programme (UNEP) to support the production of this report. Special thanks go to implementation of the agreed decision under the SDC for the fi nancial support without which, Rio+20 Conference regarding mountains in Africa. this report would not have been compiled. At national and the sub - regional level, management Dr. Sam Kanyamibwa of mountain ecosystems is also provided for by Executive Director, ARCOS some policies and instruments, putting emphasise October 2014 on the need to protect mountain ecosystems such as critical water catchments, conservation, heritage areas and other areas of common strategic interest at local, national, regional and international levels. Africa Mountains Status Report No.1 5 Executive Summary Chapter 5 presents policy questions in light of This report is divided into five chapters with sustainable mountain development in Africa each under a different and unique theme. with a general concern of low representation, mention and attention to mountains in sectoral Chapter one presents a general overview of African policies and laws in most African countries. It mountains, their real coverage, regional distribution also provides policy recommendations including and a general overview of the origin and description the adoption of mountain-specific policies, of Africa’s major mountains including Mt Kenya trans-boundary frameworks on mountains in Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, the