Kilimanjaro - "It's Going To Be F****d. It's Well On Its Way" - Salon

[hatrack]

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Normally, monsoons create two periods of precipitation in this part of East Africa: the short rains, which arrive between mid-October and mid-December, and the long rains, which fall between mid-March and the end of June. Like Mount Rainier in Washington and Mount Shasta in California, Kilimanjaro acts as a rainmaker, gathering moisture into clouds around its base, and then wringing it onto its summit cones and steep slopes in the form of snow and rain. As the glaciers steadily retreat and the world's temperatures warm, scientists are noticing that, at least for now, this rainmaking capacity appears to be decreasing.

Today the Kilimanjaro region, along with most of eastern Africa, is in the grip of a severe drought. International aid organizations warn of an impending large-scale famine, saying that the spring rains are doing little to alleviate an increasingly desperate situation. Periods of drought are common for this part of Africa, but local residents say this one seems different, and has prompted subtle but seemingly permanent changes to their way of life. Fireplaces now sit dormant in local homes, residents no longer wear sweaters even during the coldest months and dry spells last multiple years instead of just one.

For William Kiwali, these changes are most evident in his village's irrigation ditches, which are now reduced, for the first time in his memory, to mere trickles. The ingenious system of furrowed waterways, which once carried water to farms up to 10 miles away, now reach nowhere near that far. Since the winter rains stopped coming, Kiwali says, the eight rivers and seven springs that normally feed this area are starting to dry up. About five years ago, according to Kiwali, people in his village of Kifuru Juu began to clash over water; some of the fights involved machetes. "This is not normal," says Kiwali, shaking his head sadly. "People never used to do this, but five years ago they starting fighting over who gets water."

Scientists and political leaders in Tanzania fear that the dwindling water supplies in places like Kifuru Juu will only get worse. The region's declining precipitation is not only contributing to the glaciers' demise, but is dramatically changing the forests as well. Some scientists say damage to the forests will have a more devastating impact on Kilimanjaro's water than even the disappearance of the glaciers.

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http://www.ecoearth.info/articles/reader.asp?linkid=55726