Climate Change and Human Impact on Lake Ecosystems

The rapid trends of global climate change were noticed over the last decades. Both climate change and human intervention have implications to natural ecosystems. Lake ecosystems are highly fragile and vulnerable to such changes. This study was initiated with purpose of assessing the impact of climate change and human intervention on ecosystem services of Lake Alemaya and to study its socio-economic consequences. The result of the study showed that human intervention highly contributed for the gradual deterioration and final disappearance of the lake than micro-climatic factors. It also revealed that the final disappearance of the lake with its ecosystem services negatively affected the livelihood of the local community. This book, therefore, recommends strong policy and management system to restore Lake Alemaya with its ecosystems and protect similar lakes in Ethiopia.