New Atlas Shows Africa's Mountains Underpin the Continent's Development

Monday, 23 March, 2015 - 13:49

The Atlas contains detailed mapping of how strategic interventions and innovations are improving the food security and livelihoods of mountain communities in different parts of Africa.

The huge development challenges facing Africa's mountain ecosystems have for the first time been presented in clear and visual messages in a new atlas compiled by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Africa Mountains Atlas uses hundreds of 'before and after' images, detailed new maps and other satellite data from 53 countries to show the problems facing Africa's mountain areas, such as landslides in Mount Elgon and Rwenzori, volcanic eruptions, and receding glaciers. It also includes examples of innovative and successful initiatives that are effectively harnessing the ecosystem services provided by the mountains.

Some of the most compelling images in the Atlas, which was launched today at the 15th Regular session of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) in Cairo, Egypt, include the dramatic reduction in mountain glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Ruwenzori, as well as the proximity of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Nyiragongo Mountain - one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Research undertaken for the Atlas reveals approximately 27 per cent of Africa's mountainous areas to be susceptible to destructive earthquakes, defined as Level VIII or greater on the Modified Mercalli scale. The East African Rift system, which extends from the Afar triple junction 3,000 km south to Lake Malawi, is the largest active rift in the world.

The average population density in mountain areas is more than triple that in the lowlands. In Rwanda - one of Africa's most mountainous countries - the available arable land per family is 0.6 hectares (ha), with 25 percent of families possessing less than 0.2 ha.

In addition to mountain ecosystem challenges, the Atlas maps out new solutions and success stories from across the continent. It contains detailed mapping of how strategic interventions and innovations are improving the food security and livelihoods of mountain communities in different parts of Africa. The Atlas also highlights how traditional knowledge is being used to adapt to the impacts of climate change on Mount Kenya, on the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia, and on the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania, among others.

The Atlas, which aims to provide information support to AMCEN's strategic agenda on mountains, shows how climate change induced water stress in the mountain areas will compound the challenges of water scarcity in Africa with negative implications for development.

Prepared in cooperation with the African Union, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Government of Norway, Austrian Development Cooperation, United States Geological Survey, University of Bern and Albertine Rift Conservation Society, the 291-page Atlas consolidates information about the role of mountain ecosystems in Africa's economies and development, health, food security, and transboundary cooperation in one comprehensive and accessible volume.

The Africa Mountains Atlas features some 65 maps and 73 satellite images as well as some 50 graphics and hundreds of compelling photographs. The 'before and after' images, some of which span a three decade period, offer striking snapshots of local ecosystem transformation in several mountain ecosystems across the continent.

Water

The Atlas draws attention to Africa's "water towers", which are sources of water for some of Africa's major cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg, Marrakech, Addis Ababa, Nairobi and for many of Africa's transboundary rivers and contribute immensely to the total stream flow of African major rivers.

An estimated 97 per cent of Cape Town's water supply relies on surface water from mountain catchment areas. Cape Town wraps around Table Mountain National Park, the largest urban park in South Africa and a popular destination for tourists. Population growth has placed a strain on water resources, and future climate change could have an impact on stream flow, evapotranspiration rates and rainfall patterns. Already the city has had to expand its reach to the Boland Mountain as a water source, using water from the Berg, Theewaters, Voelvlei and Steenbras dams to satisfy its water needs.

According to the analysis in the Africa Mountains Atlas, many of Africa's water towers - from the Middle Atlas Range in Morocco through to the Lesotho Highlands in Southern Africa - are under extreme pressure as a result of deforestation, open cast mining and encroachment.

Mountain Forests

Africa's mountain forests (tropical and subtropical) account for approximately 6 per cent of all its forests but provide a significant proportion of its above-ground biomass carbon and total biomass carbon.

Tropical mountain forests in Africa have the second highest total biomass carbon density per hectare of all types of African forests, with only tropical rain forests exceeding them.

A successful carbon sequestration project is ongoing in the Huambo Province of the Ethiopian Highlands. Reforestation has resulted in the issuance of at least 73,000 carbon credits.

Other Main Findings

The Africa Mountains Atlas presents challenges and opportunities for Africa as the continent strives to enhance the livelihoods of mountain communities and the services derived from mountain ecosystems.

According to the authors there are 468 National Parks in Africa; of these, 125 or about 27 per cent, are found in mountains. Notable highland areas with a high density of vascular species include:

  • The Albertine Rift region with 2,000 to 3,000 species, of which 1,175 are endemic plant and animal species.
  • The eastern coast of Madagascar with 4,000 to 5,000 per 10,000 km2, is one of the densest biodiversity zones.
  • Africa's mountains are home to some of the most biodiverse tropical montane forests in the world.

Of the 44 sites listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Danger, five are in Africa's mountains

A significant proportion of Africa's mountain people are vulnerable to food insecurity. There is a need for more financing mechanisms to help preserve mountain resources that support human livelihoods.

Changes in climate, such as increased temperature and rainfall patterns, are affecting Africa's mountain ecosystems. Kilimanjaro National Park is protected to support research, recreation and education. In Africa, this is the most popular site to study the loss of snow cover. Loss of glacier cover on Mount Kilimanjaro since 1880, from over 40 square Kilometres to the present size of 1.8 square Kilometres, can be attributed to the reduction in precipitation and air humidity moisture; global climate change only influences the loss indirectly, if at all. Changes in solar radiation continue to contribute to both ice thinning and the lateral retreat of Kilimanjaro's ice cliffs, as it did in the last decades of the 19th century. Warmer near-surface conditions and rising temperatures in the lower latitudes are also driving glacier decline on Kilimanjaro.

Notes to Editors

The Africa Mountains Atlas features over 64 maps and 73 satellite images as well as some 50 graphics and hundreds of compelling photos. The Africa Mountain Atlas makes a major contribution to the state of knowledge about Mountain ecosystems in Africa by highlighting the opportunities and challenges for sustainable development of mountain areas.

All the materials in the Atlas are non-copyrighted and available for free use as long as the Atlas is acknowledged as the source. All images from the atlas including individual satellite images and other graphics can be downloaded from www.na.unep.net/atlas

For More Information Please Contact: 

  • Shereen Zorba, Head, News and Media
    United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Cel:+254 788 526000; Cel:+254 713601259
    Tel: +254-20 762 5022; E-mail: Shereen.zorba@unep.org
  • Angele Luh, UNEP Regional Information Officer, on Tel: + 254 20 7624292; fax: + 254 20 7623928;
    ​Mobile: + 254 731 666 140; E-mail: Angele.Luh@unep.org
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