The year 2002 was designated international year of the mountain, yet few people have been alerted to the fact that the plight of the planet hangs in the balance due, not least to changes drastically changing the ecology of mountains.

Surprising as it may seem to say, we are all mountain people, in that most of the worlds fresh water comes from mountains. Mountains harbour as much or more biodiversity than any other area and are home to 1 in 10 of the worlds population.

Mount Kenya

Two hundred kilometres north of the equator lies Mount Kenya . An extinct volcano formed two million years ago it is the second highest mountain in Africa . Originally named Mount Kirinyaga , it is from where Kenya gets its' name. According to the Kikuyu a tribe living around the base of the mountain, it is where God resides.

Designated a national park in 1949, it is an important water catchment area, with many rivers emerging from the mountains melting glaciers.

In Kenya the drastic and ongoing deforestation of Mount Kenya is causing changes to the climate and water run -off. When mountain forests are cut unsustainably or too much land is cleared for farming, the water that normally flows into mountain rivers washes over barren slopes causing, erosion, landslides, flooding, loss of fertile soil, environmental degradation and poverty and hunger, without clean clear drinking water for the ever increasing population.

A loss of the forests will also affect Kenya 's growing agricultural industry, tourism and power. Once a refuge for plants and animals, biodiversity decreases as the mountains lose their forests. Most alarming was the shelved Kenyan governments plan to excise 17,000 acres of forest land including parts of Mt Kenya .

A flight over the mountain reveals ongoing forest fires, where the local community burn trees to make charcoal which they can then sell as fuel for cooking for a few pence.

The population around Mt Kenya is growing and it is one of the most densely populated areas of the country. All the smaller species of animal are decreasing due to poaching - snaring, trapping, poisoning and the use of dog packs. There is a lucrative bushmeat trade in Kenya (as in everywhere else in Africa , rare bushmeats such as monkey are sold to the west for exotic dinner parties) so it is not just "subsistence" poaching.

The Mount Kenya Trust

Please also take time to visit the government website www.climatechallenge.gov.uk to see what you can do to help reduce the devastating effect we have just living on this precious planet