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in the composition or loss of some of their wildlife that usually attracts
tourists would lead to loss of foreign exchange and revenue to the country
(Ogara and Awuor 1997).
Adaptation strategies for mountain tourism in changing climate in
Kenya
There are many challenges faced in climate change adaptation by the
communities living around mountains mainly because of their inadequate
capacities (Bagoora 2010). Such communities need early warning systems to
be able to respond in time and avoid any possible climate change triggered
disasters. The high levels of poverty make the affected communities even
more vulnerable and take longer to adapt to climate change impacts such
as land slides and crop failure due to prolonged droughts.
In developing response strategies to address climate change and its
impacts in mountain areas such as Mt. Kenya, there is need to heed the
admonition of Vellinga and Stewart (1991) who stated that ''the race to
prevent global warming is like the marathon race that is held annually in
New York by amateurs. Suddenly, we are aware that we have to run this
marathon. We do not know what to expect but with the outcome of the
IPCC report, the starting short has been fi red. And this marathon is not
a race of forty kilometres but a race for at least forty years'' (Vellinga and
Stewart 1991).
Climate change poses a serious challenge for the tourism industry
in mountain areas (Burki et al. 2003). There are a wide array of climate
change responses and adaptation strategies that mountain destinations
such as Mt. Kenya would adapt to cope with reduced mountain snow and
increased natural hazards such as rock fall and land slides (UNEP 2008,
UNWTO and UNEP 2008). The responses and adaptation strategies should
be implemented as soon as possible by the affected mountain destinations
in order to reverse the adverse effects of global change. The responses
and adaptation strategies developed in the mountain destination should
be all inclusive by taking into consideration the diverse interests of all
stakeholders.
The key strategies adopted to minimize impacts of climate
change on Mt. Kenya include conservation education and development of
carbon sinks. These strategies are discussed below.
Conservation education
The local communities living around Mt. Kenya are sensitized by the Kenya
Wildlife Service (KWS) on the value of conserving forests and other forms
of biodiversity. The local people are made aware that forests act as carbon
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