Sustainable mountain development in East Africa in a changing climate

The East African Community (EAC) Most of the region’s countries are members of the EAC, a subregional intergovernmental organization made up of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The Protocol on Environment and Natural Resources Management, which is not yet operational, will be critical in the future management of East Africa’s mountainous areas. The Protocol seeks to improve collaboration in the management of East Africa’s mountain ecosystems, transboundary resources, biodiversity, forests, wildlife and water resources. Non-EAC Member States While the EAC is the most prominent inter- governmental body in the subregion, East Africa’s mountainous areas extend into non-EAC Member countries such as Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Overlapping membership Multiple membership of regional economic communities is common in East Africa, as it is in the rest of Africa. Besides the EAC, some East Africa countries are also members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2004), overlapping membership of regional economic communities burdens Member States with multiple financial obligations and a host of different meetings, policy decisions, instruments, procedures and schedules. For example, in dealing with environment and development issues Tanzania has to align its national policies, programmes and institutional arrangements with not only the EAC’s Protocol on Environment and Natural Resources Management, but also with the SADC’s Protocol on Natural Resources.

East Africa region

Atbara

SUDAN

ERITREA

Nile

Main cities

Asmara

Khartoun

Kassala

B l u e N i l e

Capital cities Other cities

Setit

Wad Medani

Mekele

Al Gadarif

Ras Dashen

Al Obeid

DJIBOUTI

Main peaks

Guna

Djibouti

Glaciers

A w a s h

Choqa

Berbera

Dharoor

Rifts

Hargeysa

Addis Abeba

S o b a t

Volcanoes

Guragé

Active

Ethiopian Highlands

SOUTH SUDAN

Bada

Dormant Extinct

Fafan

W h i t e N i l e

Batu

ETHIOPIA Shebelé

O m o

Water towers

Juba

Protected areas (above 1 500 m.a.s.l.)

SOMALIA

Lake

Turkana

Elevation

DRC

UGANDA

meters

5 000

Mogadishu

Lake Albert

Jubba

Merca

Bunia

Mt Elgon

Kenyan Highlands

4 000

Margherita Pk

Eldoret

Mt Kenya

Kampala

Satima

Nyiragongo

Kismaayo

3 000

KENYA

Nakuru

Lake Victoria

Nyamuragira Muhabura

200 km

Tana

Nairobi

2 000

RWANDA

Goma

Ruwenzori

Kigali

Kilimandjaro

Bukavu

Mwanza

Meru

1 500

BURUNDI

Arusha

Bujumbura

Mombasa

1 000

Albertine Rift

Lake Tan

500

ganyika

Zanzibar

Morogoro Dodoma

Dar es Salaam

200

TANZANIA

100

Mbeya

Southern Highlands

0

Lake Nyasa (Malawi)

ZAMBIA

Sources:J.WoodandA.Guth, “EastAfrica’sGreatRiftValley:AComplexRiftSystem”,GeoscienceNewsand Information,geology.com (accessedNovember2015);UNEP,2010, “AfricaWaterAtlas”, DivisionofEarlyWarningandAssessment (DEWA),UnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme; UN,2015, “WorldUrbanizationProspects.The2014Revision”,UNDepartmentofSocial Affairs-PopulationDivision;UNEP,2014, “AfricaMountainsAtlas”,UnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme;UNEP,2012, “Africawithout IceandSnow”,GlobalEnvironmentalAlertService (GEAS), UnitedNationsEnvironmentProgram. Copyright©2015GRID-Arendal ·Cartografare ilpresente/NievesLópez IzquierdoandDario Ingiusto

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