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Tanzania: Why Climate Cannot Be Ignored
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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
OPINION
12 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Zephania Ubwani
Arusha
Although scientific knowledge on the dynamics of climate change is still limited the world over, and at times controversial, there is every justification why Tanzanians should be worried about the phenomenon.
The rate at which inland lakes in the country are shrinking or drying up has certainly something to do with increased temperatures and reduced rains.
Some lakes have their sizes reduced by as much as 60 per cent, threatening the livelihood of surrounding communities which depend on them for their livelihood.
Dr Batilda Burian, the minister of state in the Vice President's Office responsible for Environment is much concerned by the future of Lake Natron, a major breeding ground for flamingo birds in East Africa.
The entire area of the shallow lake covers about 700 square kilometres, but the area under water is said to have shrunk by 65 per cent over the years.
According to her, water levels have gone down drastically since 1998 and observations by experts indicate that the deepest point was only six feet.
She says continued shrinking of the alkaline lake in the Great Rift Valley could spell doom to the survival of the wildlife dependent on it, local communities and the lucrative tourism industry.
Lake Natron which is in Ngorongoro district near the Kenyan border, is among the 1,720 wetland sites in the world listed under the Ramsar Convention. It was designated a Ramsar site in 2001.
"This is the only lake or one of the few in eastern Africa where flamingoes lay their eggs. It is an important site for conservation and tourism," she said after her recent visit to the area.
Prolonged dry spell is mainly to blame for the situation but she could not rule out decreased discharges from streams flowing into the lake due to abstraction of water by people living around it.
The lake is currently at a centre of a bitter conflict pitting environmentalists and investors who want to put up a soda ash plant near it.
Lake Jipe in Kilimanjaro Region, shared with Kenya, is another water body whose shrinking size has created concerns on policy makers and people depending on its rich fishery resources.
Reports say that its size has shrunk by 60 per cent since the 1970s. The fresh water lake currently covers only 28 square kilometres. High siltation and weed invasion are to blame for the phenomenon, experts say.
Although it is now teeming with water following recent rains, Lake Manyara has also at times come close to being reduced to a dust bowl mainly due to severe drought that are not unusual in the area.
During the 2005/2006 drought, the alkaline lake lost nearly 90 per cent of its water cover. The 230 square kilometre water body is famous for tree-climbing lions, flamingoes and other wild animals.
It is also one of the leading national parks in the country that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, generating millions of dollars to the economy.
When he launched the International Year of Planet Earth here last week, President Jakaya Kikwete expressed his concern over the shrinking lakes in Africa.
He warned that the phenomenon could deal a major blow to economies of the riparian countries and impact on the ecological systems.
The president, who is the current chairperson of the African Union, cited lake Chad in West Africa which has shrunk to only 1,500 square kilometres from 26,000 square kms in 1960.
The large fresh water lakes that surround Tanzania such as Lake Victoria, Nyasa and Tanganyika have not been entirely spared as there has been reports of receding levels in recent years.
The president admitted that he was particularly worried by water bodies along the Great Rift Valley and cited Lake Rukwa which he fears could be reduced to one vast pond given the rate at which is it shrinking.
The President minced no words that drying lakes in Africa, and in Tanzania in particular, has something to do with climate change.
"Climate change has been affecting energy production as well due to depleted water resources, forest and vegetation covers," he told over 200 scientists from within and outside the continent who attended the IYPE launch.
He added:"It is also sad to note that climate change will also impact on tourism due to possible decrease in wildlife population. Glacier on Mt Kilimanjaro is melting fast."
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Increased temperatures has also led to high incidences of tropical diseases like malaria which has nowadays spread to highland areas such as Arusha which was once a malaria-free zone.
His remarks were echoed by former President Benjamin Mkapa who warned that there would be a five to seven per cent potential increase in malaria distribution in Africa by 2100 due to heat waves, floods, storms, fires and droughts which are associated with climate change.
Mr Mkapa who has been appointed the patron of International Year of Planet Earth for Africa region, also warned that the continent's population at risk of increased water stress due to climate change is projected to reach 250 million by 2025.
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