Mountain climbers head to the top of Mount Stanley at the Rwenzori mountain range on March 8, 2014. The area covered by glaciers has declined from 7.5 square kilometres to less than a square kilometre between 1906 and 2003. PHOTO | FILE |
Mount Rwenzori is fast losing its appeal. The beautiful white ice glaciers that have long attracted tourists and nature lovers are being replaced with vegetation.
“Plant species near the glaciers have advanced as the latter has retreated. Rapid glacier retreat generally leads to a succession of vegetation and causes subtle but serious ecological changes,” says a new study done by global environmental NGO Green Cross International, Makerere University Mountain Research Centre and Rwenzori Trekkers.
