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Biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and Its Islands Conservation, Management and Sustainable Use

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Biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and Its Islands Conservation, Management and Sustainable Use Biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and its Islands Conservation, Management and Sustainable Use Occasional Papers of the IUCN Species Survival Commission No. 6 IUCN - The World Conservation Union IUCN Species Survival Commission Role of the SSC The Species Survival Commission (SSC) is IUCN's primary source of the 4. To provide advice, information, and expertise to the Secretariat of the scientific and technical information required for the maintenance of biologi- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna cal diversity through the conservation of endangered and vulnerable species and Flora (CITES) and other international agreements affecting conser- of fauna and flora, whilst recommending and promoting measures for their vation of species or biological diversity. conservation, and for the management of other species of conservation con- cern. Its objective is to mobilize action to prevent the extinction of species, 5. To carry out specific tasks on behalf of the Union, including: sub-species and discrete populations of fauna and flora, thereby not only maintaining biological diversity but improving the status of endangered and • coordination of a programme of activities for the conservation of bio- vulnerable species. logical diversity within the framework of the IUCN Conservation Programme. Objectives of the SSC • promotion of the maintenance of biological diversity by monitoring 1. To participate in the further development, promotion and implementation the status of species and populations of conservation concern. of the World Conservation Strategy; to advise on the development of IUCN's Conservation Programme; to support the implementation of the • development and review of conservation action plans and priorities Programme' and to assist in the development, screening, and monitoring for species and their populations. of projects for conservation action. • promotion of implementation of species-oriented conservation action 2. To maintain an international network of independent volunteer members plans and response to related issues. selected for their expertise in species conservation and to provide a forum for the exchange of views and scientific information on species • provision of guidelines, advice and policy recommendations to gov- and populations of conservation concern. ernments, other agencies and organizations with respect to conserva- tion and management of species and their populations. 3. To cooperate with the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) in developing and evaluating a data base on the status of and trade in • periodic evaluation of the status of species and biological diversity wild flora and fauna, and to provide policy guidance to WCMC. conservation initiatives. This publication was produced by IUCN - The World Conservation Union, with the collaboration of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Conservation International (CI), the World Resources Institute (WRI), the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP), and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). © 1990 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational and other non-commercial purposes is authorized without permission from the copyright holder, provided the source is cited and the copyright holder receives a copy of the reproduced material. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior permission of the copyright holder. ISBN 2-8317-0021-3 Published by IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Designed by LIV Communications S.A., Morges, Switzerland Printed by Information Press, Oxford, U.K. Cover Photo: African violet Saintpaulia sp. (Photo by Jon C. Lovett/WWF) Biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and its Islands Conservation, Management, and Sustainable Use Simon N. Stuart Richard J. Adams with a contribution from Martin D. Jenkins A Contribution to the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy Programme Occasional Papers of the IUCN Species Survival Commission No. 6 IUCN - The World Conservation Union Contents Page Foreword ii Acknowledgments iii Abbreviations Used in the Text iv Section 1: An Overview of Biodiversity Conservation in Africa 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Biodiversity and its Status in Africa 3 2.1 Summary. 3 2.2 What is Biodiversity? 3 2.3 What is the Current Status of Biodiversity in Africa? 5 2.4 What are the Threats to Biodiversity in Africa? 6 2.5 Why Should Biodiversity be Conserved? 7 2.6 Conclusion 9 Chapter 3: Action Required to Conserve Biodiversity in Africa 10 3.1 Integration of Environment and Development 10 3.2 Development and Management of a Protected Areas System 14 3.3 Biodiversity Conservation as a Component of Land-use 16 3.4 Sustainable Harvest Management 17 3.5 Development of Institutional and Technical Capabilities in Conservation 18 Chapter 4: Key Areas for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Africa 27 4.1 The Distribution of Biodiversity in Africa 27 4.2 The Conservation of Biodiversity in the Afrotropical Realm 27 4.3 Conclusion 39 Section 2: Country Profiles for Biodiversity Conservation 41 Chapter 5: Introduction 41 Chapter 6: Angola 42 Chapter 7: Benin 46 Chapter 8: Botswana 49 Chapter 9: Burkina Faso 53 Chapter 10: Burundi 56 Chapter 11: Cameroon 58 Chapter 12: Cape Verde 65 Chapter 13: Central African Republic 67 Chapter 14: Chad 71 Chapter 15: Comoros 75 Chapter 16: Congo 78 Chapter 17: Djibouti 81 Chapter 18: Equatorial Guinea 83 Chapter 19: Ethiopia 86 Chapter 20: Gabon 93 Chapter 21: Gambia. 96 Chapter 22: Ghana 98 Chapter 23: Guinea 103 Chapter 24: Guinea-Bissau 106 Chapter 25: Ivory Coast. 108 i Chapter 26: Kenya 112 Chapter 27: Lesotho 120 Chapter 28: Liberia 122 Chapter 29: Madagascar. 125 Chapter 30: Malawi 132 Chapter 31: Mali 136 Chapter 32: Mauritania 139 Chapter 33: Mauritius 142 Chapter 34: Mozambique 145 Chapter 35: Namibia 149 Chapter 36: Niger. 154 Chapter 37: Nigeria. 157 Chapter 38: Réunion 162 Chapter 39: Rwanda 164 Chapter 40: São Tomé and Príncipe 168 Chapter 41: Senegal 170 Chapter 42: Seychelles 174 Chapter 43: Sierra Leone 178 Chapter 44: Somalia 182 Chapter 45: South Africa. 186 Chapter 46: Sudan 197 Chapter 47: Swaziland 202 Chapter 48: Tanzania 204 Chapter 49: Togo 215 Chapter 50: Uganda 218 Chapter 51: Zaïre 224 Chapter 52: Zambia 230 Chapter 53: Zimbabwe 235 Useful Reading 239 Foreword It gives me great honour to write this short Foreword for "Biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and its Islands." This publication represents the first time that the work of the various Specialist Groups in the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) has been drawn together for the African continent The result is that we now have a much clearer basis on which to make decisions about allocating resources to biological diversity conservation on the continent. As a member of the SSC for 20 years and as Director of an IUCN member organisation, I warmly applaud this initiative and hope that the SSC will see fit to apply this model in other regions of the world. This publication will only have a major impact if people take it seriously. I recommend that it be priority reading for govern- ment officials in natural resource management agencies, as well as for those working for development assistance agencies and non-governmental organisations in the African continent I would encourage readers to study the first four general chapters, and then the country chapters of their choice. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those who compiled this volume, and those who took the time to provide extensive comments on earlier drafts. I am sure that all will be happy with the final product Eric L. Edroma Director of National Parks Uganda ii Acknowledgments This publication could not have been possible without the overwhelming response that we have received as a result of our many requests for advice and assistance. We have tried to list below all those who helped, and we sincerely apologise for any omissions: Rudi van Aarde, David Allan, David Anderson, Edward Anderson, Jeremy Anderson, Chris Andrews, Jonah Andrianarivo, Simon Anstey, Basher Attwell, W.R. Bainbridge, Wim Bergmans, H. Berry, Anou Lamine Berthe, Quentin Bloxam, Christoph Boesch, Markus Borner, Donald Broadley, P.M. Brooks, Chris Brown, Marie Bystrom, Julian Caldecott, Almamy Camara, Bryan Carroll, Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, Javier Castroviejo Bolivar, Joseph Cavalli, Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Graham Child, Malcolm Coe, John Cooper, K.H. Cooper, T.M. Crowe, David Cumming, Arthur Dahl, Serge Darroze, Jeremy David, Bruce Davidson, Glyn Davies, Barbara S. Decker, M.J. Delany, Bryan Dickinson, Emmanuel Dierckx de Casterlé, Charles Doumenge, R.J. Dowsett, Francois Droz, Patrick Dugan, Patrick Duncan, Lee Durrell, Derek Earle, Rod East, Keith Eltringham, N. Fairall, J. Michael Fay, Chris Foggin, Anne Forrester, Jack Frazier, Antonio de Freitas, J. Fryxell, Liza Gadsby, Chris Gakahu, Ann Galat, Joshua Ginsberg, David Given, Paul Goriup, G. de Graaff, Arthur Green, E.F. Green, John Grettenberger, I.R. Grimwood, Colin Groves, J.N. Gyakari, Sandy Harcourt, Stefan Helming, Peter Hislaire, Martin Holdgate, Rene Honegger, Francis Howarth, Kim Howell, Brian Huntley, Kathryn Hurlbert, Christoph Imboden, A.M.A. Imevbore, Mark Infield, Benjamin Itoe, Margaret Jacobsohn, Richard Jeffery, Dennis Johnson, Ernst van Jaarsveld, Pieter Kat, Richard Kilburn, Cyrille de Klemm, C.J. Kleynhans, Hans Klingel, Francois Lamarque, Christian Leveque, Dale Lewis, Benoît Limoges, J. Michael Lock, Michel Louette, Rosemary Lowe-McConnell,
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