GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Africa


between humans and wildlife species, which will increase the transmission of zoonoses back and forth between humans and wildlife. This is likely to increase the frequency of disease outbreaks and the associated lethal effects on both sides. There is therefore a need to rethink the nature of the relationships between human geography and the survival of Africa’s wealth of biodiversity.


2.4.5 Species and ecosystem restoration


Land degradation resulting from agricultural expansion, soil erosion, deforestation and low vegetative cover is among the major conservation and development challenges in many African countries. Ecological restoration is a critical tool for rehabilitation and restoration of degraded ecosystems, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. It is a fundamental element of ecosystem management that improves


biodiversity conservation, human livelihoods


and ecosystem productivity. Principles of good ecological restoration practice include incorporating biological and environmental spatial variation into the design, allowing for links within the larger landscape, emphasizing process repair over structural replacement, allowing sufficient time for self- generating processes to resume, treating the causes rather than the symptoms of degradation and including monitoring protocols to allow for adaptive management (Rodrigues 2014). Engaging all relevant sectors of society and disciplines, providing short-term benefits leading to the acceptance of longer-term objectives, enabling the accrual of ecosystem goods and services and striving towards economic viability are also important. There is a need to follow and use nature- based solutions to the land degradation, poor agricultural productivity and poverty that remain practical challenges in many developing countries, including in Africa. Application of the principles and methods of species restoration and ecosystem rehabilitation contribute to achieving many of the interrelated objectives of conservation and productivity. It can be concluded that ecological restoration will improve the biological diversity of degraded landscapes, increase the populations and distribution of rare and threatened species, enhance landscape connectivity, increase the availability of environmental goods and services, and contribute to the improvement of human well-being.


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Some of the biodiversity GEGs are encapsulated in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Aichi Targets, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and SDGs. They cover halting or reducing habitat loss and degradation; sustainable agriculture; controlling invasive alien species; increasing the size of terrestrial and marine protected areas; maintaining genetic diversity, and fair and equitable sharing of genetic resources (More...22).


Successful conservation efforts need to be scaled up in order to better protect the region’s biodiversity-rich habitats that are under threat. These threats are compounded by the fact that the terrestrial habitats of the region’s vulnerable species are also the areas that have recorded the highest human population growth (Figure 2.4.5). Continuing deforestation and forest degradation do not augur well for the region’s biodiversity because forests harbour much of it, providing a habitat to over half of the terrestrial species of animals, insects and plants (FAO 2015). Further, increasing dependence of the region’s population on oceans for food and income have resulted in marine pollution, depleted fisheries, and loss of coastal habitats. These points underscore the inter-linkages between biodiversity, land and marine resources that are highlighted in SDGs 14 and 15.


In the wake of resurgent markets and a rise in organized crime, global trade in illegal wildlife, which is estimated to exceed USD 213 billion each year (Nellemann et al. 2014), poses a rising threat to Africa’s biodiversity. It is driven by consumer demand for trophies, pets, bush meat, ornaments, collectibles and traditional medicine (Rosen and Smith 2010). Recognizing this threat, the African Union in June 2014 prepared the African Common Strategy on Combating


2.4.6 Meeting Africa’s Biodiversity Targets Biodiversity has intrinsic value and is the foundation of all life forms, including human beings. It maintains ecosystem balance, provides a range of social benefits and is a source of vital resources such as food and medicine. The dependence of 80 per cent of Africa’s rural population on traditional medicine attests to the importance of biodiversity to human health (UNEP 2013; WHO 2003).

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