Briefly 293 AFRICA
Diversifying approaches to conservation in Africa Conservationists do not always agree about the best ways to reinforce the protection of nature, and such debates can become con- frontational. In a letter to the journal Science, a group of conservationists have argued that the model of trophy hunting in Africa to finance conservation is neither sustain- able nor equitable, and have offered some alternatives. The letter’s signatories promote meeting the needs and values of a variety of stakeholders and local communities, by em- powering people to participate in decisions that affect them. They support a number of strategies for conserving natural landscapes and their ecological functions, including con- necting local needs with the wider world, community-led sustainable practices, redu- cing negative human–wildlife interactions and tourism reforms and participatory approaches. A more diverse model for biodiversity conservation in Africa will be environmentally respectful, promote local knowledge and cultural exchange, and en- courage the participation of women. Source: The Conversation (2020) the
conversation.com/diversifying-approaches- to-conserving-nature-126526
Climate change fuels locust swarms ravaging East Africa Across East Africa enormous swarms of desert locusts have spread through the re- gion in February 2020, destroying crops and pastures at a voracious pace. The UN warned of a severe threat to food security in a part of the world where millions already face hunger. Experts say the outbreak—the worst in recentmemory—is caused by an in- creased number of cyclones. There is a link between climate change and the unprecedent- ed locust crisis plaguing Ethiopia and East Africa, according to UN Secretary General António Guterres. Warmer seas mean more cyclones, generating the perfect breeding conditions for locusts. In January the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization stated the number of locusts in East Africa could ex- pand 500 times by June. In 2019,the Oc- tober–December rainy season was among the wettest in 40 years, with cumulative rain- fall ranging from120%to 400%of normal. Lo- cust outbreaks are expected to become more frequent and severe as a result of climate change. Locust eggs can lay dormant in the soil for decades and mass hatch in response to extreme rainfall. Source: Bloomberg (2020) bloomberg. com/features/2020-africa-locusts
Launch of Community Conservation Fund of Namibia.. . In February 2020 the Community Conser- vation Fund of Namibia was launched in the country’s capital, Windhoek. The organiza- tion was established to address the problem of limited funding in community-based nat- ural resources management, and to create a sustainable finance framework for conserva- tion. As part of the fund, Germany’sgovern- ment announced the inception of a c. EUR 5 million grant for addressing human–wildlife conflict, specifically targeted at communal conservancies inNamibia. The human–wild- life conflict project is expected to run for 4 years and the targeted beneficiaries are the registered communal conservancies mainly in central, west, east and northern Namibia, where people are affected by negative interac- tionswith key species such as lions, elephants, hyenas, wild dogs and crocodiles. The num- ber of conservancies benefitting from the fund is likely to reach 90–100 within the next 3–4 years, and it is expected that over time an increasing number of registered con- servancies will become financially sustainable as theirwildlife populations recover and part- nerships with the private sector prosper. Source: Africa News (2020) africanews. com/2020/02/14/the-community- conservation-fund-of-namibia-ccfn- was-successfully-launched-in-the- capital-today
.. . and new environmental protection project in Niger River Basin The Integrated ProgrammeforDevelopment and Adaptation to Climate Change in the NigerBasin waslaunchedinFebruary 2020 in Bamako, the capital of Mali. The pro- gramme is implemented by the Niger Basin Authority, which comprises the nine coun- tries of the Niger Basin: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Cameroon. The pro- gramme’s aim is to tackle food insecurity while protecting the environment, and to enable the development of climate resilience of resources, ecosystems and human popula-
tions.The lands of theNiger Basin need to be protected from erosion, and the programme aims to develop agroforestry and stabilize sand dunes. The Mali government will also carry out water and soil conservation works to restore degraded land and carry outmech- anical and biological treatment works in ra- vines. To ensure the sustainability of fishery resources in the rivers of the Niger Basin, spawning grounds and wetlands will be rehabilitated. Source: Afrik21 (2020)
afrik21.africa/en/ mali-environmental-protection-project- launched-in-niger-basin
Oryx, 2020, 54(3), 290–295 © 2020 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605320000137
Concerted action proposed to conserve giraffes... Seven African countries proposed a plan of concerted action for conserving giraffes to be considered at the 13th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Environment Programme’s Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS CoP 13), which was held in February 2020 in Gandhina- gar, India. The proposal, prepared by repre- sentatives from Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, in coordination with the non-governmental Giraffe Conservation Foundation, called for the development of Africa-wide, national and regional conservation plans. The popu- lation of giraffes has declined by nearly 28%since 1980, leaving an estimated 110,000 giraffes globally. Originally occurring in 28 African countries, the giraffe has already become extinct in seven: Burkina Faso, Eri- trea, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal. Loss, fragmentation and degrad- ation of their habitat, illegal harvesting and trade, disease, and civil unrest are major threats to the species. Source: Down To Earth (2020) downtoearth.
org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/ african-countries-propose-concerted- action-to-conserve-giraffes-at-cms- cop-13-69337
.. . and lifeline for Africa’s most threatened primates Focusing on the most threatened group of primates in Africa, the University of Cumbria, UK, has spearheaded ground- breaking actions in The Gambia. With a global population of 2,500 individuals, Temminck’s red colobus Piliocolobus tem- minckii is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Population numbers are decreasing as a re- sult of habitat loss, climate change and dis- ease, and without intervention the species could become extinct in as little as a decade. The monkeys have now been thrown a po- tential lifeline in the form of an ambitious 3-year community-based project. Backed by international organizations, including National Geographic and Global Wildlife Conservation, the University’s programme has helped set up two key sites where local teams and partners will work on measures to help reverse the species’ population de- cline. The teams will roll out environmental education, set up primate monitoring and forest patrols, and develop community tree nurseries, woodlots and ecotourism. Source: University of Cumbria (2020)
cumbria.ac.uk/about/news/articles/ articles/-lifeline-for-africas-most-threatened-
primates.php
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