IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WILDLIFE RESOURCES By Shiloh David Kabwe

Wildlife management and conservation is the major key to tourism industry in Zambia. However the future of wildlife is greatly being affected by the changes in climate. Conservation of wildlife resources is vital because it preserves the endangered species which may go into extinction. The habitat and organisms inhabiting these areas need to have a good environment suitable for their basic needs. A good temperature conditioned area, sufficient food, good fresh water. Climate refers to the regular variations in weather in a region over a period of years and climate change refers to a shift in climate, occurring as a natural process and also as a result of human activities.

Changing  climate  is expected  to continue  in  response  to the  continued  increasing  trend  in global greenhouse gas  (GHG)  emissions, stimulating  three  main  responses: technical and  livelihood adaptations  by affected  communities, mitigation actions that  sequester GHGs or reduce fossil fuels dependence, and  formal inter-national dialogue on the scope and  correction of this  now rapidly emerging threat  to human existence. Climate change scenarios for Africa include higher temperatures across the continent and more erratic rainfall.

Processes that Contribute to Climate Change

The Earth has a natural temperature control system. Certain atmospheric gases are critical to the stability of this system and are known as greenhouse gases (GHGs). On average, about one third of the solar radiation that reaches the earth is reflected back to space. Of the remainder, the atmosphere absorbs some but the land and oceans absorb most. With reduced forests and vegetal cover in sub- Saharan Africa, the carbon sinks on land are reduced. The Earth’s surface becomes warmer and as a result emits heats. The greenhouse gases trap the heat, thus warming the atmosphere (the greenhouse gas effect). There are also some greenhouse gases and effects that are naturally produced. These include water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), and together create a natural greenhouse effect. However, human activities are causing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere to increase. Overall, agriculture (cropping and livestock) contributes 13.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Forests can play a significant role in climate change through their influence on rainfall. For example, 95% of the rainfall in the Congo Basin derives from water recycling. Studies have indicated that deforestation has a strong effect on rainfall and that the desertification in Africa is an example of declining mean rainfall during the last half of the 20th century.

Impacts of Climate Change

Climate change affects wildlife resources in several ways. The diversity of animals and plants in the world are affected by climate change in one way or another. Climate change affects the biodiversity of wildlife resources in the wild in that the species which fail to adapt to the change goes into extinction. This affects the tourism sector to dwindle and making a low income from this sector.

As climate change wreaks its havoc across the globe, ecosystems could disappear altogether, or they may undergo serious and irreversible changes, such as those happening to coral reefs. On land, animal biodiversity in Africa is concentrated in the savanna and tropical forests. In 100 years, 97% of the wild tigers have been lost or rather have gone into extinction due to climate change.

Polar bears have less time to hunt because of melting ice

Climate change has critical health implications. Increased flooding facilitates the breeding of the malaria carriers. These problems will be exacerbated by the inability of many communities to cope with increased disease. The diseases such as malaria and most water borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, dysentery etc. will affect the tourism sector for a fact that most tourists will be scared to visit countries with such complications of deadly diseases. This will therefore reduce the income gain in the tourism sector by the many game parks that exist in different countries and Zambia not being an exception.

Climate change affects seas and polar communities as well. There are animals which just rely on ice for survival in terms of hunting and habitation. A good example of these animals are the polar bears in the Hudson Bay area of Canada which are losing weight and getting less fit because the ice breaks up 2 weeks earlier in spring, robbing them of 2 weeks’ hunting.

Different flocks of bird species migrate on a seasonal basis and annually within Africa and also between Africa and the rest of the world. One of the main intra-Africa migratory patterns is flown by the egrets and waterfowl, which spend the winter in Africa mostly southern Africa and spend there, summer in Southern America and in austral summer in southern Africa and winter in central Africa respectively. If climatic conditions or specific habitat conditions at either end of these migratory routes change beyond the tolerance of the species involved, significant losses of biodiversity could result. Although the species involved have some capacity to alter their destinations, in a world of intense human land use the probability of finding sufficient areas of suitable habitat is small.

A severe drought stress plants and can kill them of which this is where wild animals and insects depend for food and shelter, and deprives wildlife of water sources. Biodiversity is affected because some plants fail to spread to other parts of the world due to the change in climate which may not be a suitable one for them. Some plants have also started the migration in order to adapt to the change in climate. As the climate changes, plants will naturally attempt to adapt by migrating, assuming the landscape is not too fragmented. However, given that most of the land in Africa is inhabited by humans, not all species will be able to migrate.

Ways YOU can help reduce climate change include

• Planting of drought resistant trees and having a habit of planting a tree to replace the one cut down. This will aid in maintaining the rainfall system pattern in the world and will reduce on climate change process.
• Use of clean renewable energy in the developing countries such as solar energy unlike thermal power energy which may add more water vapor into the atmosphere and catalyses the climate change process.
• Promote the switching from fossil fuels use to renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass.

Climate change which is a natural and human catalysed process will continue to attack the environment and those rare species which occur regionally and can’t afford to adapt to other areas in other parts of the world will surely go into extinction. YOU CAN HELP REDUCE CLIMATE CHANGE.

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