Dominating the sky-line of the Uganda-Kenya border, Mount Elgon is the eighth highest mountain in Africa and has the largest base area of any freestanding volcano in the world (Boy & Allan, 1988). The mountain is vital to the social and economic functioning of the area, and is a water catchment supplying millions of people in Uganda and Kenya (van Heist, 1994). It is also an important area for species conservation due to the richness of endemic plant and animal species which can be found on the mountain (Howard, 1991).
Physical characteristics and climate
Mount Elgon is a solitary extinct volcano straddling the border between Uganda and Kenya, 100 km north-east of Lake Victoria (figure 1). National Parks now exist on both the Ugandan and Kenyan sides of the mountain though they only merge on the north-east side of the mountain. Wagagai, the highest peak lies in Uganda and is 4321m. Despite its height, the average slope angle of Mount Elgon is less than 4 degrees (van Heist, 1994). The Ugandan side of Mount Elgon National Park covers 1145km2 between 0o52’ and 1o25’N, and between 34o14’ and 34o44’E (Howard, 1991). Mount Elgon is the oldest of the East African volcanoes, resting on the dissected peneplain of Pre Cambrium bedrock of the Trans Nzoia Plateau (Davies, 1952). The soils on Mount Elgon are from the Andisol order (“developed in volcanic ejecta”) (FAO classification). The climate of Mount Elgon shows an approximately bimodal pattern of rainfall, with the wettest months occurring from April to October (van Heist, 1994). The forest zone receives the maximum rainfall (Synott, 1968) and is important in the mountain’s role as a water catchment for several million people (van Heist, 1994).
Biodiversity
The Mount Elgon ecosystem has unique biodiversity, a set of precious component ecosystems and habitats including 180,000 ha of forest and supports thousands of people both directly and indirectly. It is also catchment for important water systems contributing to the Turkwell River and Lake Turkana, to the Lake Victoria basin and to the Nile River basin via Lake Kyoga.
In addition, it also has other values including biological, aesthetic, tourist, cultural, forest resources, educational, employment and carbon sink values. Overall, IUCN has listed 37 fauna species in the area as globally threatened, of which nine are endemic, making a priority species conservation area (IUCN 2005). Davenpot et al 1996 ranked Mt Elgon among the top ten most species rich forests in Uganda.
Many of these values are significant and could help reduce poverty in the Ecosystem. Unfortunately, a number of the values are of global rather than local significance. Hence the local communities are bearing a disproportionately higher cost of conservation. Furthermore, the values are also under threat mainly from encroachment, grazing, illegal materials off-take, insecurity and settlement in the protected areas, among others. The Ecosystem also faces some constraints including: a hotly contested protected area boundary on the Ugandan side; and community issues such as access to natural resources, revenue sharing, problem animals, and conflict resolution.
Consequently, there have been a number of interventions by both government and Non- Government actors to address the conservation and development challenges within the ecosystem. Accordingly, Mt Elgon has received a lot of donor support to ensure that it is a secure and productive ecosystem which is sustainably managed. In addition to government agencies, other major actors within the ecosystem include the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Nature Harness Initiative, SNV, World Vision, ECOTRUST, UNDP, East African Community, ICRAF, IDRC, and Catholic Relief Services among others.
The ecosystem also has a number of thematic working groups which spearhead discussions and learning lessons on key themes within the landscape. However, the thematic working groups are limited to specific stakeholders and issues, hence the need for a holistic forum that considers the various interlinkages within the ecosystem. In addition, despite all these interventions, Mt Elgon has still remained highly vulnerable, with a number of conservation and development needs to be addressed. During a Multistakeholder dialogue organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), stakeholders emphasized the need for an integrated landscape collaboration framework which provides a platform for all stakeholders within the ecosystem to discuss and coordinate Mount Elgon activities.