Clearing Forests May Transform Local and Global Climate
Monday, March 4, 2013 - 07:30
in Earth & Climate
In the last 15 years 200,000 hectares of the Mau Forest in western Kenya have been converted to agricultural land . Previously called a “water tower” because it supplied water to the Rift Valley and Lake Victoria, the forest region has dried up; in 2009 the rainy season--from August to November--saw no rain, and since then precipitation has been modest. Whereas hydropower used to provide the bulk of Kenya’s power ongoing droughts have led investors to pull out of hydro projects; power rationing and epic blackouts are common. In a desperate move to halt environmental disaster by reducing population pressure, the Kenyan government evicted tens of thousands of people from the land. [More]