Although Africa is the inhabited continent least to blame for the greenhouse effect, global warming is affecting Africa

more than the industrialized world. It also has an effect on tourism and the economies of many nations across the globe. In Africa the effects are profound as many of these countries rely on tourism for economic growth. Global warming is a major threat to the people, animals and natural resources that make Africa unique. Signs of a changing climate in Africa have already emerged: spreading disease, heat related illnesses and melting glaciers in the mountains, warming temperatures in droughtprone areas, sea-level rise, and coral bleaching along the coastlines, landslides, earthquakes, and frequent floods. The effects of global warming on tourism are real. East Africas coral reefs which are a major tourist attraction are in danger of disappearing. As I write, over 50% of the areas reefs have died as a result of bleaching through pollution. Coral Reef Bleaching in the Indian ocean affects Seychelles; Kenya; Reunion; Mauritius; Somalia; Madagascar; Maldives; Indonesia; Sri Lanka; Gulf of Thailand [Siam]; Andaman Islands; Malaysia; Oman; India; and Cambodia). The effect of global warming on our climate may also affect Indian Ocean tides and water level and I think this is going to be a real threat to out beach hotel business and marines as well. The loss of reefs will affect fisheries, food security, marine biodiversity and tourism income. Global warming has resulted in disappearing glaciers. This can be seen in the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. As for Tanzanias Mt Kilimanjaro, which is a major tourist attraction, mountain climbers who attempted to climb in the 1960s would be covered in snow up to their waists. This is however not the case anymore as the snow has decreased from 12 Square miles to less than 2 square miles with researchers predicting that by 2020 there will be no snow on the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. They also hypothesize that less snow on the mountain during the rainy season decreases the surface reflectiveness, leading to higher rates of absorption of heat and increased ice melt. A trickledown effect of this is that Temperatures have risen up Marangu Moshi and where mosquitoes never used to exist now they do. As the snow dries up at the top of Mt Kilimanjaro, it also dries up the swamps in the Amboseli National park which is a major tourist attraction. This will in turn drive out all of the animals from the Amboseli National park and you can imagine what will happen to Kenyas tourism seeing that Amboseli National park is the second most popular park after Masai Mara in terms of wild animals concentration. Global warming has seen Mt. Kilimanjaro area and the Amboseli Park experience a decline in vegetation and beauty. Rivers that were known to be permanent in the in 1960s have now turned out to be seasonal Rivers and are drying up. The soils in the Amboseli have changed completely into salty soils due to high rate of ice / snow melting at the top of Mt Kilimanjaro.

As a result there is a lot of water flowing down through the volcanic ashes collecting a lot of mineral salts and filling the Amboseli swamps turning the entire park acidic. If global warming continues in the same trend as it, areas that were well known to be disease free will turn out to be too dangerous to visit not only for tourists but also for the locals to inhabit. This is because; with warmer conditions bacteria growth will greatly multiply. E.g. 1997 in Kenya saw hundreds of people die from a deadly outbreak of malaria in the Kenyan highlands an area which had previously been unexposed. This is also the case in Usamabara Mountains of Tanzania. As climate change continues People and wildlife will be affected by diseases that never used to exist and these areas will become no go zones. Further climate change will also threaten vulnerable animal and plant species in Africa and threaten migration routes for animals and birds within Africa and between Africa and other continents. In Africa by 2020, between 75 and 250 million people are projected to be exposed to an increase of water stress due to climate change, Agricultural production, including access to food, in many African countries and regions is projected to be severely compromised by climate variability and change. The area suitable for agriculture, the length of growing seasons and yield potential, particularly along the margins of semi-arid and arid areas, are expected to decrease. This would further adversely affect food security and exacerbate malnutrition in the continent. African cultures, cuisines etc which are a major source of attraction for tourists would suffer greatly even to the point of extinction. This paints a very grim picture for the future of tourism in Africa, as a continent that cannot carter for its own basic needs is ill positioned to develop its tourism infrastructure. Small islands, whether located in the Tropics or higher latitudes, have characteristics which make them especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea level rise and extreme events. Sea-level rise is expected to exacerbate inundation, storm surge, erosion and other coastal hazards, thus threatening vital infrastructure, settlements and facilities that support the livelihood of island communities. Deterioration in coastal conditions, for example through erosion of beaches and coral bleaching, is expected to affect local resources, e.g., fisheries, and reduce the value of these destinations for tourism. Towards the end of the 21st century, projected sea-level rise will affect low-lying coastal areas with large populations. Mangroves and coral reefs are projected to be further degraded, with additional consequences for fisheries and tourism. It is very important for us to remember that our tourism is very much dependant on electricity and if global warming will continue its effects on our forests which contribute greatly to rainfall, then our rivers will dry and our dams will not give any electricity. In return our hotels will be very expensive to run and these costs will be passed on to the clients. If the hotel industry becomes too expensive, then this will keep away clients and eventually tourism will die out.

Tourism is the major source of income and often the only source of foreign currency in Africa. It is important to come to the realization that every tourism destination has a climate-related component and in Africa tourism and climate change are intimately intertwined. We therefore have a responsibility to mitigate the effects of global warming on tourism in Africa. Reducing, reusing, recycling, planting trees, encouraging others to conserve and use energy efficient products are all ways of reducing global warming. Countries should also adopt Sustainable development as it would limit the impact of global warming by reducing the vulnerability of people in the areas most likely to be seriously affected and increase the adaptability of this region and the people who live here.