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New initiatives are being developed in the Nyungwe
National Park in Rwanda to promote tourism while
also preserving the park’s biodiversity, providing
alternative livelihood opportunities for local
communities and reducing the threat of illegal
poaching and fires (RBD, 2015).
Thenaturalbeautyofmountainareasisamajortourist
attraction – from high snow-capped and glacier-
covered mountain peaks to dense forests teeming
with wildlife. Negative impacts on biodiversity
and ecosystems may reduce tourism revenues. The
montane forests in East Africa have some of the
highest concentrations of unique species in the
world and are home to one of Africa’s most famous
and critically endangered species – the mountain
gorilla. Found only in the mountain forests in DRC,
Rwanda and Uganda, the mountain gorilla attracts
thousands of tourists to the Virunga, Volcanoes,
Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks.
Collaborative conservation measures between the
three countries have been successful in increasing
the Virunga mountain gorilla population from 250
in 1981 to 480 in 2011 (UNEP, 2014). While there
are few benefits for local people, gorillas contribute
significantly to the national economies. Estimates
suggest that in Uganda, each gorilla brings in USD
1 million in revenues annually (Debarbieux et al.,
2014). As mountain gorillas have a high tolerance
for a wide range of temperatures, feed on a variety
of plants and have low water requirements, they
are not directly threatened by climate change.
However, due to their small population and limited
geographical range, low reproductive rates and high
susceptibility to diseases, mountain gorillas are risk
from the indirect consequences of climate change,
such as increased human population pressure and
habitat destruction, poaching, civil unrest due
to sociopolitical instability as well as increased
exposure to diseases (WWF, 2014).
Lake Albert
Lake Turkana
Lake
Victoria
Lake Tanganika
Bujumbura
Ruvubu National Park
Kibira National Park
Nyungwe
National Park
Akagera National Park
Kigali
Bwindi Impenetrable
National Park
Queen Elizabeth
National Park
Kibale forest
National Park
Rusizi
National Park
Lake Kivu
Volcanoes
National Park
Serengeti
National Park
M. Kilimanjaro
National Park
Tarangire
National Park
Lake Manyara
Pemba Island
Mombasa
Nairobi
Lake Nakuru
National Park
M. Kenya
National Park
Laikipia plateau
Murchison falls
National Park
Kampala
Mafia Island
Selous
Reserve Game
Ruaha
National Park
Zanzibar
Ngorongoro
Conservation Area
Livingstone–Stanley
Monument
Kagera falls
SOUTH SUDAN
ETHIOPIA
SOMALIA
KENYA
UGANDA
TANZANIA
ZAMBIA
DRC
RWANDA
BURUNDI
World Heritage sites (UNESCO)
Cultural
Main touristic places
Copyright©2015GRID-Arendal ·Cartografare ilpresente/NievesLópez Izquierdo
Protected areas above 1 400 m
Main touristic places
and Heritage site
Natural
Mixed
In danger
200 km
Ecosystem services: Tourism
Sources: UNESCO, “WorldHeritageList”
,whc.unesco.org(accessedDecember2015);EastAfricaTourismPlatform
,ea-tourism-platform.org(accessedDecember2015);
UNEP,2014, “AfricaMountainsAtlas”,UnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme .