33 / 100
33
frequency of extreme events such as flooding and
landslides. Rainfall variability is also a major problem
for rain-fed agriculture, which is the most common
form of farming in East Africa (FAO 2014).
Some areas may also receive less rainfall, such as
parts of the Ethiopian Highlands (William and
Funk 2011). In areas with a large amount of arable
land, such a change is likely to have a negative
impact on the agricultural sector and exacerbate
food insecurity in an already food insecure region
(IGAD and ICPAC, 2007; Alweny et al., 2014).
Biodiversity
The mountain ecosystems of East Africa are rich
in biodiversity and are an important resource for
local communities. They provide food, freshwater,
fibre, fuel, shelter, building materials, medicines
and other important ecosystem services. As such,
biodiversity serves as an important safety net for
the rural poor (Boko et al., 2007; Alweny et al.,
2014). Understanding how climate change will
impact on natural resources is a major concern
(Platts et al., 2012). Changes to biodiversity are
also likely to adversely affect the tourism industry
(UNEP, 2014). Known for their high concentration
of plants and animals of which many are endemic,
the mountainous areas of East Africa are some
of the main tourist attractions in the subregion
(UNEP, 2014). Much of the Eastern Afromontane
biodiversity hotspot, which stretches from the
mountains of Saudi Arabia in the north to Zimbabwe
in the south, is found in East Africa. It includes
the Albertine Rift, the Eastern Arc Mountains,
the Ethiopian Highlands, Mount Kilimanjaro,
Mount Kenya, Mount Elgon and Mount Meru. Of
the 10,856 species found in this hotspot, over a
third are endemic (BirdLife International, 2012).
The Albertine Rift alone – which stretches across
Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and DRC – has over
SOUTH SUDAN
SUDAN
ERITREA
DJIBOUTI
ETHIOPIA
SOMALIA
KENYA
UGANDA
TANZANIA
ZAMBIA
DRC
RWANDA
BURUNDI
SOUTH SUDAN
SUDAN
ERITREA
DJIBOUTI
ETHIOPIA
SOMALIA
KENYA
UGANDA
TANZANIA
DRC
RWANDA
BURUNDI
Copyright©2015GRID-Arendal ·Cartografare ilpresente/
NievesLópez Izquierdo
Projected change in the distribution of malaria’s vectors
Anopheles
arabiensis
Change in
suitability*
More
Less
Anopheles
gambiae
*Under a climate change scenario with a rise of 2°C Africa wide
temperature, 10% increase of summer rainfall and 10% decrease in winter
rainfall.The overall climatic suitability of a nominated location for the two
species of mosquitoes is provided by an Ecoclimatic Index (EI), which combines the annual
potential for population growth, with the annual stresses that limit survival during the
unfavourable season and with the limiting interacting factor between stresses.
Source:H.E.Z.Tonnang,R.Y.M.Kangalawe,P.Z.
Yanda,2010, “Predictingandmappingmalaria
underclimatechangescenarios: thepotential
redistributionofmalariavectors inAfrica”,Malaria
Journal20109:111
400 km
Pink flamingos in Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya