By Veronica Donald – Art in Tanzania internship
Climate encompasses the statistics of meteorological conditions, that is, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle counts and other meteorological element in a given region over a long period. Climate change is attributed directly or indirectly to human activities that alert the composition of the global atmosphere and natural variability observed over comparable periods. Variability may be due to internal natural processes within the climate system or variation in anthropogenic external forces. A national park is a predominantly unaltered land and/or sea area characterized by exceptional and varied natural assets comprising one or several preserved and predominantly unaltered ecosystems. It is primarily set aside for the conservation of original natural assets.
Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa, covering an area of 945,209 km², 60,000 km² of which is inland water. It shares boundaries with eight countries: Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and Zambia. Tanzania lies close to the equator on the East coast of Africa, between parallels 1°S and 12°S and meridians 30°E and 40°E. Being close to the equator, climate variations in temperature are relatively mild. Tanzania is among of African countries in terms of biodiversity of both flora and fauna species in its terrestrial and marine ecosystem, it has numerous vegetation cover distributed along the diverse landscape. It is home to endemic plant and animal species, most of which are of global importance. It has 16 national parks, including Kilimanjaro, Lake Manyara, Tarangire, Mikumi, Saadani, Saadani Island, Katavi, and Gombe.
Climate trend in Tanzania
Rainfall Pattern
The country’s rainfall pattern is subdivided into tropical on the coast, where it is humid and hot (the rainy season is from March to May), semi-temperate in the mountains, with short rains in November and December and long rains in February and May, and drier in the plateau region, with considerable seasonal variation in temperature. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 500 mm to 2500 mm and above, with a dry period of five to six months. However, recent rainfall patterns have become increasingly unpredictable, with some areas experiencing extreme variations in both maximum and minimum yearly rainfall.
Temperature Pattern
The temperature in Tanzania also varies according to geographical location, relief, and altitude. In the Coastal regions, it ranges between 27℃ and 29℃, while in the central, northern, and Western parties, it ranges between 20℃ and 30℃ and higher between December and March, in the Northeast and Southeast, where there is mountainous terrain and the Makonde plateau, the temperature occasionally drops to 15℃ at night during June and July.
The following are the effects of climate change on National Parks in Tanzania.
Water shortage for large mammals, especially in periods of low rainfall, is the main challenge facing wildlife, the places that naturally used to dry water during the dry season are no longer used to dry water, and thus, water-dependent animals such as hippopotami, crocodiles, buffaloes are found crowded in few remaining water ponds elephant, e.g. in Ruaha National Park. The lack of surface water led to considerable mortalities among hippopotamuses and buffalo. Suffering from lack of water, wildlife’s physiological functions are impaired, and they are becoming easy targets to poachers and predators. Thus, with the changing climate and associated decrease in water availability due to reduced amounts and altered seasonal rainfall distribution, the existing water-related problems are likely to be compounded (Elisa et al., 2011, cf. Kangalawe, 2010).
Human-Wildlife conflicts
Due to climate change, wild animals from the National Park are roaming the adjacent villages in search of pastures and water. Thus, many crop-raiding events occur, which causes human-wildlife conflicts. The animals commonly involved in these conflicts are hippopotamuses, buffalo, and elephants, and this may be aggravated by changing climatic conditions. An example is Lake Manyara National Park.
Affects nature-based tourism
Tourism has close connections to the environment and is considered a highly climatic-sensitive sector. Climate variability determines the length and quality of tourism seasons, and thus plays a significant role in destination choice and tourist spending. Climate affects a wide range of environmental resources that are key tourist attractions, such as snow conditions over Mount Kilimanjaro, wildlife productivity and biodiversity. The climate also affects ecological conditions that can deter tourists, including infectious diseases, wildfires, waterborne pests and insects.
Glacier retreat in Mount Kilimanjaro
The early retreat of glaciers on Kilimanjaro was due to natural climatic shifts, whilst the warming up of the Earth after the industrial era has led to the current faster recession of the glaciers. There is no argument today regarding the retreat of the Kilimanjaro glaciers; the glaciers have been retreating on an unprecedented scale in recent years, directly due to climate change. The retreat of the glaciers is probably the most iconic indication of climate change impacts in Tanzania (Ibid). The most recent data indicate that the glaciers were approximately 4.2 km² in 1976 (Hastenrath and Greischar, 1997). In 2000, the remaining glaciers were only 2.6 km2 (Thompson et al., 2002).
Ecosystem shift
Climate change is altering environmental niches, causing species to shift their habitat ranges as they track their ecological niches. Species shifts enable species to persist, but may negatively impact existing species in these areas because the shifted species may become a primary food source for the existing species.
Speciation is an evolutionary process by which new ecological species arise. Due to various natural processes, including geographical separation and drift, some species become separated. Consequently, new species are established under changing climatic conditions and due to natural selection. Climate change and invasive species pose ecological challenges to the world. Climate change and the rise in average global temperature can profoundly affect the geographical ranges of species, which are often set primarily by climate and the host environment. Climate change alters the distribution of habitats and increases vulnerability to invasion due to resource scarcity and increased competition among native flora and fauna, as seen in Argemone mexicana in Ngorongoro, CA.
Strategies for climate change
Enhance the resilience of wildlife Ecosystems to the impacts of climate change.
This can be achieved by promoting wildlife management practices that enhance resilience to climate change, establishing a wildlife climate change-related monitoring and information management system, and strengthening the protection and conservation of wildlife habitats.
Ensure the availability and accessibility of water quality in a changing climate.
This can be achieved by protecting and conserving water catchment areas, investing in and promoting appropriate water management technology, exploring and extracting underground water, and conducting vulnerability assessments of water resources.
Research climate change impacts.
Undertake detailed and coordinated research on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, mitigation measures, and technology that will ensure a sustainable response system for minimising impacts and risks associated with a changing climate.
Adequate financial resources for climate change adaptation.
This can be done through an effective and efficient system for planning mobilisation and managing climate change funds.
Conclusion
Climate, tourist attractions, and wildlife habitats are closely tied to national parks. Changes in climate have directly influenced tourism seasonality and indirectly affected the natural attractiveness of the parks by altering the tourism flagship species and the natural landscape. Decreasing rainfall and increasing temperatures have led to drier conditions and increased aridity, resulting in a water shortage for wildlife.
References
Elisa, M., Gara, J.I., and Wolanski, E. (2011). A Review of Water Crisis in Tanzania’s protected areas with emphasis on Katuma River-Lake Rukwa Ecosystem. Journal of Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology [DOI: 10.2478/v10104-011-0001-z]
Fischlin, A., Midgley, G.F., Price, J. T., Leemans, R., Gopal, B., Turley, C., Rounsevell, M. D.A., Dube, O. P., Tarazona, J., and Velichko, A.A. (2007). Ecosystems, their properties, goods, and services. In Parry, M.L., Canziani, O.F,. Palutikof, J. P., van der Linden P. J., and Hanson, C.E. (Eds.), Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Workin Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 211-272.
Kangalawe, R.Y.M. (2010). Mainstreaming climate change adaptation in the management of freshwater resources in the Rufi ji Basin. A consultancy report submitted to the Ruaha Water Programme. WWF-Tanzania Country Offi ce, Dar es Salaam.
United Republic of Tanzania – URT (2002). Population and Housing Census 2002. United Republic of Tanzania. National Bureau of Statistics, Dar es Salaam.
Hastenrath S, Greischar L. 1997. Glacier recession on Kilimanjaro, East Africa, 191 89. Journal of Glaciology 43: 455-459.
Thompson LG, Mosley-Thompson E, Davis ME, Henderson KA, Brecher HH, Zagorodnov VS, Mashiotta TA, Lin PN, Mikhalenko VN, Hardy DR, Beer J. 2002.Kilimanjaro ice core records: evidence of Holocene climate change in tropical Africa. Science 298: 589-593.
