Is it possible to save a mountain by climbing it? The managers, international volunteers, guides, porters, and villagers of Uganda's Mt. Elgon are hoping by attracting eco-tourists interested in hiking in Uganda, they can help to preserve the mountain's unique ecosystem while bringing in jobs. Visitors taking a Uganda vacation bring in much-needed hard currency. Gorilla tracking is the primary attraction, but visiting Uganda national parks, going whitewater rafting, taking an African wildlife safari, or hiking and climbing the volcanoes, are other Ugandan tourist attractions that make a big difference in the income and preservation of often-impoverished rural African communities.
Mt. Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the Kenyan-Ugandan border. At 14,176 feet, Mount Elgon is the lowest and least known of East Africa's major volcanic peaks. But while Mt. Kenya, Mt. Meru, and Mt. Kilimanjaro may overshadow Mt. Elgon today, Mt. Elgon's enormous surface area (one of the biggest of any extinct volcano in the world) suggests that it may once have been much larger, and a bigger climb, than Kilimanjaro. Today, it offer the opportunity to hike and trek in a remote, ecologically important part of Uganda.
The caldera that forms Mt. Elgon's summit ridge is a 40-square-kilometer eroded crater with several summits. The crater is covered by an Afro-alpine moorland; vegetation includes giant lobelia and more giant senecios than are found anywhere in East Africa. The mountain's biodiversity includes unique endemic plants that have adapted to tropical heat and freezing nights, along with antelope, primates, and more than 300 species of birds. On the Kenyan side, there is a unique system of caves that have been carved out by elephants seeking salt contained in the rocks.
Booking.com
Mt,. Elgon National Park straddles the international border. The Kenyan part of the park was gazetted in 1962 and is managed by the Kenyan Wildlife Service; the Ugandan part of the park was established in 1992 under the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Uganda has the majority of the mountain, including Wagigi, its highest point, and the most developed infrastructure for guides and porters.
For those hiking the Uganda side, the park information office is located in a simple building in Mbale, the nearest large town to the mountain, and the staging town for most Mt. Elgon visitors, with guesthouses and simple hotels. Visitors can speak with an information officer, and view displays about trail maintenance projects, as well as descriptions of the partnerships between international volunteers and local people.
Exhibits at the park office exhibits include information about squatting and poaching, the two main threats to the mountain. The exploding population has nowhere to go but up, so each year, more and more squatters start illegal farms, searching a little farther up the mountain for a speck of arable land. Maize and casaba, two local agricultural mainstays, drive out bamboo and forest. As habitat is lost, endemic species such as the dramatically black-and-white colobus monkeys, duikers, dik-diks, and buffalo retreat up the mountain or leave the area.
The other major problem is poachers, who follow a so-called Smuggler's Trail from the Kenyan side to hunt buffalo and small game on the Ugandan side. Currently, political strife on the Kenyan side makes climbing impossible there. On the Ugandan side, hikers attempting a full traverse of the mountain (as opposed to the more common straight up-and-down route on the Sasa River Trail) or a detour to the hot springs near the Kenyan border must hike with an armed ranger. Poachers occasionally have stolen equipment and money from tourists, and sometimes set fires to flush out game.
Park managers hope that recruiting villagers and farmers as guides and porters will encourage local people to put social pressure on those who engage in environmentally harmful activities. While international volunteers have participated in the Mt. Elgon project, advising on trail construction, erosion control, and public relations, village elders seem more likely to listen to people who not only have experience and concern for the mountain, but also a deep knowledge and concern for the people in the villages surrounding it. In speaking with rangers, managers, guides, and porters, a visitor gets the impression that this is overwhelmingly a local project that needs local support to succeed.
Perhaps more than anyone, the members of the Porters and Guides Association understand that preserving the mountain as a tourist destination and gaining local support go hand in hand. Aspiring guides spend one to two years as porters, then train for three months before becoming guides. Training includes trekking and client management skills, as well as ecology and environmental education. Porters and guides then act as ambassadors for the mountain to both visitors and to those in their communities. The Association also contributes to trail maintenance by providing equipment and labor; the park contributes money.
The reward for all of this work? The region's tiny guest houses and restaurants benefit from tourism. Part-time jobs for guides and porters are doled out on a rotation, so everyone gets a chance to earn money. Guides earn about $12 a day; porters a little less. By choosing a Mt. Elgon climb while on an Uganda holiday, and by paying a small amount for assistance up and down the mountain, hikers in Uganda can make the difference between preserving Mt. Elgon's ecosystem, or letting overpopulation and poaching win the battle for the mountain's scarce resources. Booking.com
Mt. Elgon Geography and Ecosystem
Mt. Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the Kenyan-Ugandan border. At 14,176 feet, Mount Elgon is the lowest and least known of East Africa's major volcanic peaks. But while Mt. Kenya, Mt. Meru, and Mt. Kilimanjaro may overshadow Mt. Elgon today, Mt. Elgon's enormous surface area (one of the biggest of any extinct volcano in the world) suggests that it may once have been much larger, and a bigger climb, than Kilimanjaro. Today, it offer the opportunity to hike and trek in a remote, ecologically important part of Uganda.
The caldera that forms Mt. Elgon's summit ridge is a 40-square-kilometer eroded crater with several summits. The crater is covered by an Afro-alpine moorland; vegetation includes giant lobelia and more giant senecios than are found anywhere in East Africa. The mountain's biodiversity includes unique endemic plants that have adapted to tropical heat and freezing nights, along with antelope, primates, and more than 300 species of birds. On the Kenyan side, there is a unique system of caves that have been carved out by elephants seeking salt contained in the rocks.
Booking.com
Uganda's Mt. Elgon National Park Combats Illegal Farming and Poaching
Mt,. Elgon National Park straddles the international border. The Kenyan part of the park was gazetted in 1962 and is managed by the Kenyan Wildlife Service; the Ugandan part of the park was established in 1992 under the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Uganda has the majority of the mountain, including Wagigi, its highest point, and the most developed infrastructure for guides and porters.
For those hiking the Uganda side, the park information office is located in a simple building in Mbale, the nearest large town to the mountain, and the staging town for most Mt. Elgon visitors, with guesthouses and simple hotels. Visitors can speak with an information officer, and view displays about trail maintenance projects, as well as descriptions of the partnerships between international volunteers and local people.
Exhibits at the park office exhibits include information about squatting and poaching, the two main threats to the mountain. The exploding population has nowhere to go but up, so each year, more and more squatters start illegal farms, searching a little farther up the mountain for a speck of arable land. Maize and casaba, two local agricultural mainstays, drive out bamboo and forest. As habitat is lost, endemic species such as the dramatically black-and-white colobus monkeys, duikers, dik-diks, and buffalo retreat up the mountain or leave the area.
The other major problem is poachers, who follow a so-called Smuggler's Trail from the Kenyan side to hunt buffalo and small game on the Ugandan side. Currently, political strife on the Kenyan side makes climbing impossible there. On the Ugandan side, hikers attempting a full traverse of the mountain (as opposed to the more common straight up-and-down route on the Sasa River Trail) or a detour to the hot springs near the Kenyan border must hike with an armed ranger. Poachers occasionally have stolen equipment and money from tourists, and sometimes set fires to flush out game.
The Mt. Elgon Porters and Guides Association
Park managers hope that recruiting villagers and farmers as guides and porters will encourage local people to put social pressure on those who engage in environmentally harmful activities. While international volunteers have participated in the Mt. Elgon project, advising on trail construction, erosion control, and public relations, village elders seem more likely to listen to people who not only have experience and concern for the mountain, but also a deep knowledge and concern for the people in the villages surrounding it. In speaking with rangers, managers, guides, and porters, a visitor gets the impression that this is overwhelmingly a local project that needs local support to succeed.
Perhaps more than anyone, the members of the Porters and Guides Association understand that preserving the mountain as a tourist destination and gaining local support go hand in hand. Aspiring guides spend one to two years as porters, then train for three months before becoming guides. Training includes trekking and client management skills, as well as ecology and environmental education. Porters and guides then act as ambassadors for the mountain to both visitors and to those in their communities. The Association also contributes to trail maintenance by providing equipment and labor; the park contributes money.
The reward for all of this work? The region's tiny guest houses and restaurants benefit from tourism. Part-time jobs for guides and porters are doled out on a rotation, so everyone gets a chance to earn money. Guides earn about $12 a day; porters a little less. By choosing a Mt. Elgon climb while on an Uganda holiday, and by paying a small amount for assistance up and down the mountain, hikers in Uganda can make the difference between preserving Mt. Elgon's ecosystem, or letting overpopulation and poaching win the battle for the mountain's scarce resources. Booking.com
Comments