East Africa: Deforestation, climate change magnify drought

According to the Environment News Service, the relentless drought across East Africa is deepening because of global climate change as well as the continuing destruction of forests, grasslands, wetlands and other critical ecosytems the UN environment Programme (UNEP) is warning. "Drought is no stranger to the peoples of East Africa," said Klaus Toepfer, the executive director of UNEP, which has compiled a number of reports on the state of Kenya’s forests. "It is a natural climatic phenomenon".