DESTINATION KILIMANJARO
Field Trip Cost: $235
Field Trip Dates: 7 AM, 28th August – 1 PM, 30th August
Thematic description – Community-based forest management, multiple forest uses
Champion: Jonathan Muriuki
No. of People: 65
The trip to the base of Mount Kilimanjaro will give you a sense of what it is like living within the ecosystem of one of the world’s most famous mountains. Kilimanjaro is known as the highest free standing mountain in the world and as the highest point on the African continent. This trip will give you an opportunity to see how the people living on the mountain live and use the Kilimanjaro forest resources to sustain their livelihoods.
Travelling from Nairobi along the arid East African Highway please note how quickly the area gets dry after Nairobi. Agroforestry practices in the arid part of Kenya before crossing the border consist of Eucalyptus grandis-camadulensis hybrid clones supplied by the Tree Biotechnology Programme that works in the three East African countries. The close spacing used in addition to the species water thirst does not seem to be giving the desired results. Notice the dusty hills after the border crossing and the need of agroforestry to rehabilitate landscapes need not be emphasized. The best time to plant trees here was twenty years ago and the next best time was yesterday. After the arid Northern Tanzania’s volcanic landscape you move into the lush corridor between Arusha and Moshi, home to coffee plantations, banana farms and flower farms. You are tired from this journey of course so you will first rewind in the Rau ground water forest and play with the Columbus monkeys for a while as you observe the benefits of conserving upland watersheds. Water flowing underground from Kilimanjaro has sustained this forest and goes on to support a 50000 rice plantation in what would have been a very dry and unproductive land next to the forest. Your first night will be spent in Moshi town, the main launching point for trekkers on their way to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
(Photo: The entrance to a cave and waterfalls
In the morning you will drive to the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro where you experience the traditional way that local residents irrigate their banana crops, exploring caves used for defense and shelter and touring the abundant water falls. Along your way to the Kilimanjaro area you may be amazed at the large population of local residents. The mountain is a major water catchment area for northern Tanzania. Although the higher altitudes of Mount Kilimanjaro are desert-like, the base of the mountain is extremely fertile and produces mass amounts of water, attracting a large population. This is the home of the Chagga homegardens so take note of the multilayered landscape mosaics of taro, coffee, bananas and a wide range of tree species. This year, however, there is a severe drought and even in the Kilimanjaro area maize fields have dried up. If you are lucky to catch a view of the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, you will notice that only one side of the peak is covered with snow, the result of several decades of global warming. While the rise in temperatures has major impact globally, this trip will give you an insight into the impact of climate change and the management of mountain forest resources from a local perspective. This rich tour of the slopes ends with a short presentation from the Ecologist of Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) on the forest ecosystem and the national park which you were only able to view from the Marangu gate.
A traditional house built to ward of the chilly Kilimanjaro winds
As an optional tour you may choose to enter the Kilimanjaro National Park for a fee of US$60 (for non-East Africa residents). But this means you forgo the sumptuous lunch at the Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort so we would advice that you organise for a separate tour. If you have not been able to see the mountain peak by now you can fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport and sport the lovely peak towering above the crowds in the next tour. For more information about features of the tour online, visit:
• UNEP project on the conservation of Kilimanjaro forests: http://mountains.unep.ch/?q=node/9
• Kilimanjaro World Heritage Site document (UNEP): http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/pdf/Kilimanjaro.pdf
• Field Guide to the Moist Forest Trees of Tanzania: http://www.york.ac.uk/res/celp/webpages/projects/ecology/tree%20guide/in...
• Aerial Survey of the Threats to Kilimanjaro Forests (UNDP): http://www.tnrf.org/node/10137
• Kilimanjaro National Park: http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/kili.html
Itinerary
28th August
0700 – 1500 – ICRAF to Moshi (crossing the border to Tanzania at Namanga)
1500 – 1730 - Rau forest walk
1730 – 1800 – Hotel check-in, relaxation and dinner
29th August
0800 – 0900 – Travel Moshi to Marangu Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park
0900 – 1300 – Tour of coffee farms, traditional caves, waterfalls and Chagga irrigation systems
(break up in three groups)
1300 – 1400 – Lunch at Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort
1400 – 1500 – Presentation on Mt Kilimanjaro forests by the Ecologist of Kilimanjaro Nat’l Park
1500 – 1700 – Travel to Arusha to spend the night
30th August
0630 – 1330 – Arusha to ICRAF (crossing the border to Kenya at Namanga)