Conservation and globalization: A perspective from Africa

Background/Question/Methods

The continent where the greatest change will be noticeable in our lifetime is Africa. With a rapidly growing population, Africa is poised to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend. With vast natural resources and the opportunities globalization provide in terms of urbanization, access to information and markets, it is no surprise that half of the top ten fastest growing economies are African. But Africa has another claim to fame. It is the cradle of humanity and the ecology of the continent, particularly the mammalian ecology, has evolved to share the land with people. This is apparent to anyone who has gone on safari on the plains of East Africa or experienced the intactness of the Namib desert; remnants of the Pleistocene era still exist in Africa. However, the last couple of decades have seen massive shifts in the ecology of Africa ranging from a dramatic reduction in populations of mega-herbivores and predators, to the massive clearing of the West-African rainforest as demand for productive land and resource extraction to feed the emerging economies grow.

Conservation in Africa is at a crossroad. What will the ecology of the continent look like in 20 years? Will it be a vastly diminished faunal assemblage, massive habitat change, but relatively well-off people – or is Africa’s fate still unwritten?

Results/Conclusions

The needs of Africa are clear. Its people want sufficient water, food security, access to health care, electricity, and benign governance. The pursuit of these needs, crucial to the development and globalization of the continent, will have an impact on the continent’s wildlife and ecology. External pressures including the demand for raw materials by countries such as China, the massive land leases to produce food for Arabian governments, and the impacts of unstable governments will bring to bear significant pressure on Africa’s wildlife and natural systems. Here we examine the magnitude and potential impacts of these human-development goals and then focus on targeted conservation interventions that if scaled could alter the trajectory that the continent is on without diminishing the aspirations of its people. Things are going to change in Africa, but it may not be necessary to cause whole-scale extinction of species and populations of species, and dramatic alterations of habitat, in order to achieve a better living for people.