Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa
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W Conservation Biology in ILSON Conservation Biology Sub-Saharan Africa JOHN W. WILSON AND RICHARD B. PRIMACK in Sub-Saharan Africa AND This textbook – the fi rst Open Access conservati on biology textbook for Africa – is unique in its opti mal use of examples of conservati on eff orts in the conti nent, and brilliant descripti on of the interdisciplinary nature of conservati on biology. P Temitope Borokini, President, Africa sec� on of the Society for Conserva� on Biology (2019–2022) RIMACK We fi nally have a textbook to teach our students conservati on biology in an African context. Its comprehensive chapters are supplemented with real-world case-studies, writt en by researchers and practi ti oners across the region. Dr Bruktawit Abdu Mahamued, Biology Department, Kotebe Metropolitan University This book comprehensively explores the challenges and poten� al solu� ons to key conserva� on issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. Easy to read, this lucid and accessible textbook includes fi � een chapters that cover a full range of conserva� on topics, including threats to biodiversity, environmental laws, and protected areas management, as well as related topics such as sustainability, poverty, and human-wildlife confl ict. This rich resource also includes a C background discussion of what conserva� on biology is, a wide range of theore� cal approaches to the subject, ONSERVATION and concrete examples of conserva� on prac� ce in specifi c African contexts. Strategies are outlined to protect S biodiversity whilst promo� ng economic development, and scien� sts who live and work throughout the region are featured in each chapter. UB Conservati on Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa provides the most up-to-date study in the fi eld. It is an essen� al -S resource for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a handy guide for professionals working to stop the rapid loss of biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. This book is available on-line without AHARAN charge at https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0177. This edi� on includes: • Glossary • Thema� c boxes B A • Topics for discussion • Study ques� ons IOLOGY • Suggested readings • Online image por� olio FRICA Cover photo and design by Anna Gatti IN book eebook and OA edi� ons also available OPEN ACCESS www.openbookpublishers.com OBP JOHN W. WILSON AND RICHARD B. PRIMACK https://www.openbookpublishers.com © 2019 John W. Wilson and Richard B. Primack This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the text; to adapt the text and to make commercial use of the text providing attribution is made to the authors (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Attribution should include the following information: John W. Wilson and Richard B. Primack, Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2019, https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0177 In order to access detailed and updated information on the license, please visit, https://doi.org/10.11647/ OBP.0177#copyright Further details about CC BY licenses are available at, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ All external links were active at the time of publication unless otherwise stated and have been archived via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine at https://archive.org/web Updated digital material and resources associated with this volume are available at https://doi.org/10.11647/ OBP.0177#resources Licencing for images obtained online, many of which underwent minor stylistic adjustments, were correct at the time of publication. Every effort has been made to identify and contact copyright holders and any omission or error will be corrected if notification is made to the publisher. The Lounsbery Foundation has generously contributed to the publication of this volume. ISBN Paperback: 978-1-78374-750-4 ISBN Hardback: 978-1-78374-751-1 ISBN Digital (PDF): 978-1-78374-752-8 ISBN Digital ebook (epub): 978-1-78374-753-5 ISBN Digital ebook (mobi): 978-1-78374-754-2 ISBN XML: 978-1-78374-755-9 DOI: 10.11647/ OBP.0177 Cover photo and design by Anna Gatti. 15. An Agenda for the Future 15.1 Achieving Sustainable Development p. 556 15.2 Dealing with Technological Advances p. 558 15.6 Summary p. 579 15.3 Funding Conservation Activities p. 562 15.7 Topics for Discussion p. 580 15.4 Building Lasting Partnerships p. 568 15.8 Suggested Readings p. 580 15.5 Environmental Education p. 574 Bibliography p. 581 and Leadership A family in rural Tanzania celebrating solar power arriving in their village. New technologies provide great opportunities for more sustainable lifestyles. Photograph by Power Africa, https://www.flickr.com/photos/usaidafrica/26570196501, CC0. © 2019 J.W. Wilson and R.B. Primack, CC BY 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0177.15 556 Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa The field of conservation biology has set itself some imposing—but critical—goals: to describe Earth’s biological diversity, to protect what remains, and to restore what is damaged. To understand what a significant undertaking this is, consider the Living Planet Index (http://www.livingplanetindex.org) which shows that, already in 2014, Sub-Saharan Africa’s vertebrate populations were on average down 56% compared to 1970 levels (WWF, 2018). Declines were even more pronounced for freshwater vertebrates which showed a 75% decline. With wildlife declines showing no sign of halting, we are in a race against time to prevent catastrophic losses. Conservation biology is a truly crisis discipline (Soulé, 1985; Kareiva and Marvier, 2012), because decisions often need to be made under pressure, with limited resources, and constrained by tight deadlines. At the same time, the discipline needs to offer a long- term conservation vision that extends beyond the immediate crisis, despite unreliable commitments to seeing such plans through to completion. Despite the challenges we face, there are many positive signs for cautious optimism. Some threatened species are recovering, the number of well-managed protected areas is increasing, and, in some cases, natural resources are being used more prudently on unprotected lands. We have also increased our capacity to restore degraded ecosystems to such a level that we are now reintroducing species that were once extinct in the wild. Our improved ability to protect biodiversity is in no small way attributable to the wide range of productive local, national, and international collaborative efforts that have been cultivated over the past few decades. It is also because the field of conservation biology has expanded for the better, by developing linkages with rural development, economics, the arts, social sciences, and government policy, to name a few. Make no mistake, many challenges remain unaddressed and under-addressed, and new ones will surely also arise. These challenges all need to be faced head-on, because there is no “Planet B”: Earth is our one and only planet. There will be times when the biodiversity crisis will feel insurmountable. When that happens, it is important to remember that every individual human can play a role in saving our natural heritage. If just one-tenth of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 1 billion people use one less plastic item (e.g. plastic bags, drinking straws, food wrappers) a week, there would be a reduction of 100,000,000 plastic items each week. People operating at the regional and global scales, such as company executives and government officials, also have an important task— ensuring that mechanisms are in place for all citizens to contribute to ensuring that future generations will inherit a healthier environment. Below, we offer a few holistic strategies towards a sustainable future. 15.1 Achieving Sustainable Development Efforts to preserve biological diversity are regularly perceived as in conflict with societal progress (Redpath et al., 2013). Perhaps the root of this conflict lies with the fact that most of the development we see today is unsustainable—that is, it risks depleting natural resources to a point where they will no longer be available for use Chapter 15 | An Agenda for the Future 557 or to provide ecosystem services. Moreover, governments and businesses often measure success in terms of economic Economic policies that growth, which occurs when an economy increasingly favour growth are based on produces more goods and services (often measured as the erroneous assumption GDP). Economic policies that favour economic growth are that natural resources are generally based on an implicit but erroneous assumption unlimited. It is thus bound to that the supply of natural resources is unlimited. A society fail at one point or another. that aims for economic growth is therefore bound to fail at one point or another. Figure 15.1 Sustainable devel- opment heals the rift between development and conservation; it aims to simultaneously meet conservation goals and human needs, CC BY 4.0. To overcome these perceptions and conflicts, scientists, policy makers, and conservation managers are increasingly highlighting the need for sustainable development— economic activities that satisfy both present and future needs without compromising the natural world (Figure 15.1). Sustainable development is closely linked to economic development, a multi- Sustainable development dimensional concept that describes economic activities aims to satisfies present that aim to improve income and health without necessarily and future needs without increasing consumption of natural resources. We should compromising the natural thus all strive for sustainable development, which world. emphasises economic development without unsustainable economic growth. There are many good examples across Africa that illustrate the progress made towards sustainable development. For instance, many governments are investing in national parks and their infrastructure (such as staff and facilities) to protect biological diversity and provide economic opportunities for local communities.