Kenya's Famous Coral Reefs Hammered By Warming - Up To 90% Regional Die-offs In 1997; Fishing Hurt

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Over 90 percent of reefs in certain Kenyan waters died in the 1998 El Niño, prompting knock-on casualties amongst various species of fish as their environment became compromised. This loss of biological diversity was ultimately felt by Kenyans when the reduced number of fish translated into lower catches for coastal communities -- some 70 percent of which rely extensively on fishing for their livelihood, says the U.S-based Wildlife Conservation Society.

As Mohammed describes it, these communities didn't have the resources to escape their changed circumstances: "The Kenyan marine fisheries are dominated by small scale (fishermen) with limited capacity to fish. They have no means to go beyond the mangroves and corals, and cannot venture into the open seas where there are more fish." He claims the losses sustained by fisheries were significant, but could not give figures in this regard. Remarks by Tanzanian fisherman Rajab Mohammed Sosele indicate that coastal communities in East Africa continue to feel the brunt of rising sea temperatures.

"The reduction in fish catch has seriously affected my business. While…supply is going down, the price of fish goes up. The people I usually sell fish to cannot afford these high prices, so these circumstances are making it increasingly difficult for me to make a living," he is quoted as saying, in a 2006 publication of the WorldWide Fund for Nature that highlights how people in East Africa are experiencing climate change.

The destruction of reefs is also a threat to marine-based tourism in Kenya, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the sector as a whole, according to government figures. "Most of the tourists come because of the beauty and diversity of our marine life," said Mohammed. Tourism is Kenya's second-largest foreign income earner after agriculture. The effects of climate change on biodiversity will be coming to the fore Tuesday during the International Day for Biological Diversity, which is focusing on this issue.

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http://www.africa-interactive.net/index.php?PageID=4603

[phantom power]

1. These people just need to apply Technology(tm) to solve their climate problems.

They just need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. Bush and Howard told me so.