Paradise lost? Conservation of Mount Marsabit forest ecosystem, northern Kenya

Marsabit Mountain rises from northern Kenya's vast low-lying arid region. During the dry season, the surrounding lowlands are expanses of desert-like environments, often dotted with patches of dry grass and leafless thorny shrubs. In the lowlands, temperatures are over 30 degrees Centigrade and the mean annual rainfall is hardly 300 millimetres. However , around the mountain, the temperature is always about 26 degrees Centigrade and the mean annual rainfall is about 800 millimetres. The mountain's lush vegetation and biodiversity-rich forest ecosystem is very different from the surrounding lowlands and is considered one of Kenya's most ecologically-sensitive biodiversity hotspots.