Archive for October 3rd, 2007

Climate Change Devastating Wildlife in East Africa

Posted on 3 October 2007. Filed under: Environment |

Climate change is affecting the behaviour of wildlife

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) says climate change is to blame for increasing conflicts between humans and wildlife across East Africa, and is heightening the risk that animal diseases will spread.

The Biodiversity Research Unit of the KWS warns in its annual report — released in early August — that unless urgent strategies are developed to counter the effects of climate change, management of wildlife could suffer irreparably.

Researchers at the unit say climate change is to blame for rivers drying up and species migrating to new habitats, causing changes in ecosystems.

This has led to animals, such as lions, killing domestic animals like sheep and goats in villages near the animal parks. Villagers have also complained of elephants, rhinos and buffalo destroying food crops as they wander away from the parks in search of food and water.

The researchers add that these events are compromising the eradication of rinderpest — a viral infection of cattle, sheep and goats — ahead of a 2010 global elimination target set by the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme.

Julius Kipngetich, director-general of the KWS, said the organisation is ill-prepared to deal with the impacts of climate change.

“This is an area where we need more scientific help,” Kipngetich told SciDev.Net.

The KWS says climate change and ecological disturbances could have caused a recent increase in deaths in wildlife populations from infectious diseases. Birds and mammals have been the worst affected, with climate change blamed for the sudden mass death of flamingos around Lake Nakuru in central Kenya last year.

The KWS initially suspected bird flu, but 493 samples proved negative for H5N1 avian influenza.

According to the report, Kenya’s 66 animal parks are all experiencing changes in animal disease patterns. The authors call for better disease surveillance strategies to determine the ecological factors fuelling the disease spread, as well as implementing a mass animal vaccination programme.

KWS says it is aware of the climate change risks and has spent US$42,000 in implementing decisions made at UN conferences on climate change to avert its effects and to stem biodiversity loss.

Source: SciDev.Net

Rwanda to Introduce Environment Syllabus

Posted on 3 October 2007. Filed under: Environment |

Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) is working on a strategy to integrate environment lessons in the national education curriculum. The plan, known as the Environmental Education and Public Awareness Strategy, targets all learning institutions.

The move is part of efforts to entrench values of environment protection among Rwandans.

Sebastien Dusabeyezu, Rema’s Director of Environmental Education and Outreach, said the strategy will also determine the type of content to include in the courses.

“Environmental education in schools and universities is a new phenomenon that necessitates us to have a proper strategy to undertake,” Dusabeyezu said recently.

The plan will focus on revising education programme for schools and universities, with the aim of tackling the growing ecological problems.

Currently, there is no specific education syllabus on environmental conservation or developing an understanding of other related issues.

Dusabeyezu promised that the much-anticipated final national environmental education strategy will be availed to by end this year.

“We have to consult the Ministry of Education on how to link up environmental lessons with other ordinary lessons. That’s when we will be able to design final guidelines that will enable us achieve our goal,” he said.

The draft document comes after five months of consultative work, involving a number of institutions directly or passively engaged in environmental conservation.