Kenya tackles climate threats to wildlife, tourism

Isaiah Esipisu in AlertNet: Climate shifts are forcing Kenyan experts to take drastic action to preserve the stunning scenery and wildlife that have drawn millions of tourists to the east African country, bringing vital revenue and providing thousands of jobs.

From collecting rainwater in national parks to providing animals with hay in hard times and preventing alien species of vegetation from taking over grassland, Kenyans have joined regional and global projects to grapple with the changes, which are having deep and rapid effects on the country’s natural resources.

One of the sites most severely affected by recent changes is Lake Nakuru, in the Rift Valley about 140 km (80 miles) northwest of Nairobi. The soda lake is home to millions of flamingos who make a dazzling display as they wheel and swoop in huge flocks before settling on the water to browse on the dense algae.

The flamingos and other water birds make the lake one of the country’s most magnificent spectacles, watched by thousands of tourists from the 14 hotels overlooking the lake and giving jobs to thousands of Kenyans, as well as bringing in more than 3 billion Kenyan shillings ($36 million) a year in revenue.

...But in the past three months, millions of birds have migrated to other places because of pounding rains that have caused the lake to overflow....

Storks and flamingos at Lake Nakuru, shot by Angela Sevin, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Climate change action focuses on tourist traps, say researchers

University of Queensland, Australia: Efforts to help Queensland's tourism industry to adapt to the effects of climate change are likely to be focused on areas that attract the most tourist dollars rather than those with the greatest need, according to new UQ research.

Researchers at The University of Queensland Business School fear that natural heritage such as The Great Barrier Reef and northern tropical rainforests could lose out if investment decisions are made on the basis of economic values that fail to take into account its environmental value.

The research by UQ Business School Masters students suggests that Queensland tourism could be badly affected by climate change.  With the industry generating close to $19 billion in annual revenue and accounting for one in 10 jobs, measures to adapt to overcome the adverse effects would be necessary.

Using different climate change scenarios, the students compared leading tourist destinations on their tourism revenue, their vulnerability to climate change, and their ability to adapt to it. They found the south-east coast, from a purely business perspective, should be given the highest priority for climate change action, with the lowest priority given to the Australian outback and northern tropical rainforest regions.

UQ Business School Lecturer and corporate sustainability expert Dr Martina Linnenluecke said: “This research is one of the first studies to combine insights into the costs of adaptation, as well as the vulnerabilities of different regions....

The Pelican Waters brush fire in Queensland, 2006, shot by thinboyfatter, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license