The snows of Kilimanjaro are not the only victims of climate change and global warming. Recently, the Rwenzori Centenary Expedition found evidence that glaciers are receding on Africa’s largest alpine region, located in Uganda. The study by British and Ugandan scientists predicts that the equatorial icecaps will disappear within two decades because of global warming.

“Recession of these tropical glaciers sends an unambiguous message of a changing climate in this region of the tropics,” said Richard Taylor of the University College London Department of Geography, who led the study funded by The Royal Geographical Society and The Royal Society. Taylor and his colleagues found that in the Rwenzori Mountains, also known as the Mountains of the Moon, there have been clear trends since the 1960s toward increased air temperature without significant changes in precipitation.

Still unknown is how this projected loss of the glaciers will affect tourism, as well as local traditional belief systems, that depend on the snow and ice, known locally as “Nzururu.”

The Rwenzori Mountains, also known as the Mountains of the Moon, sit astride the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Uganda.

“Considering the continent’s negligible contribution to global greenhouse-gas emissions,” said Taylor, “it is a terrible irony that Africa, according to current predictions, will be most affected by climate change.”

The Rwenzori Mountains National Park, in Uganda, is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites. A scientific team has been charged with studying maps of the glaciers, comparing the cartography from 1955 to reports from 1906.

The annual Royal Ascot Goat Races, a Ugandan society event, will be held at the Speke Resort and Conference Center in Munyonyo on Saturday, Aug. 26. The event includes raffle prizes and raises money for a variety of charities, including Sanyu Babies’ Home and Uganda Deaf Association.

Nearly 10,000 visitors come to this event each year. For more information, visit thegoatraces.com/index.html.

“Uganda and Kenya have allowed visitors to Mt Elgon National Park to cross the common border atop the mountain,” reports Lillian Nsubuga, Special Correspondent for The East African, “taking the campaign to create a single East African tourism market to a higher level.”

Until now, tourists had to go up and come down the mountain on the same side of the border, but now they have a choice of ascending and descending on either side of the border.

Ugandan and Kenyan officials will soon meet to discuss the initiative, Moses Mapesa Uganda Wildlife Authority executive director told Nsubuga. “We need a memorandum of understanding to guide us on key issues such as the procedures for handing over tourists by one country to another, especially since the point of handover is not an officially gazetted immigration point.”

Currently, Kenya and Uganda use transfer forms filled by tourists wishing to cross the border. Immigration officials on either side countersign the forms, confirming entry or exit of the visitors.

The cross-border initiative is one of several joint activities being implemented under the Mt Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Programme. The joint venture aims make the mountain available to tourists at affordable costs.

Kenyan and Ugandan tourism authorities have improved security to stop illegal immigrants from abusing the cross-border tourism facility, Joshua Masereka, chief warden of the park, said. Mt Elgon is one of the 10 national parks managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

For more information, see the full story at allafrica.com/stories/200608140837.html.

The former Nile Hotel has been renovated and reopened as the Kampala Serena Hotel, luxury, five-star hotel.

“This is just the type of investment that Uganda needs to spur its burgeoning tourism sector and attract other investors,” said Uganda’s Minister of State for Privatisation Prof. Peter Kasenene.

The opening of the hotel not only helps tourism, it also adds value to Uganda’s employment sector, as the new facility will employ about 350 people.

The Serena Group owns properties in Kenya and Tanzania, as well, and is considered one of the leading hospitality providers in East Africa.

“The objective from the outset was to create the finest facility in the region,” Serena Hotel sales and marketing director Peter Mhogua told travel agents and journalists touring the facility. It took nearly 18 months for the reconstruction and renovation to be completed on this property.

Amenities available at the Kampala Serena include 152 rooms and suites, the Pearl of Africa restaurant, The Mists cocktail bar, the Explorers Bistro, the Lakes’ restaurant, Maisha Health Club and a state-of-the-art conference center.

Prince Amyn Aga Khan, Chairman of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), the principal shareholders of the Serena Group, hopes that the new hotel will help the Serena Group expand it safari and leisure circuit in East Africa.

For more information, visit www.serenahotels.com/uganda/kampala/home.asp

The East African Community (EAC) has a new strategic plan to promote tourism in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Part of the initiative is a common visa for tourists that would be honored in all three countries.

The plan hasn’t been approved yet, but many hope it will be by November, in time for the World Travel Fair in London, as well as the Berlin Fair later in the year. The benefits of such a program include:

• It supports the spirit of the common East Africa customs union, launched last year, as well as the proposed common market between the three countries by 2010.
• It would allow tour operators to develop packages that visit all three countries more easily.

A single entity, the East African Tourism and Wildlife Conservation Agency (EATWCA) will be in charge of the tourism and conservation sector of the EAC.

The EAC, which depends on wildlife-based tourism, has a lot to offer eco-minded tourists, and packaged as a single destination could offer tourists a broader experience. Tourists looking to see wildlife make up more than 75 percent of the tourists to the region. In addition, Kenya has been ranked among the world’s top eco-tourism destinations, with Tanzania and Egypt coming in second for popularity in eco-tourism. On top of that, National Geographic Magazine named Serengeti, the largest national park in Tanzania, one of the 50 must-go-to-in-lifetime places in the world.