Chemical pollution as a driver of biodiversity loss and potential deterioration of ecosystem services in Eastern Africa: A critical review

Abstract

Chemical pollution, i.e. the release of anthropogenic chemical substances into the environment, is a driver of biodiversity loss. Although this issue has been widely investigated in high-income countries of temperate regions, there is a lack of data for tropical areas of middle- or low-income countries, such as those in Eastern Africa. Some of the world’s richest biomes that are affected by multiple pressures, including chemical pollution, are hosted in this macro-region. However, few studies have addressed the impact of the release of anthropogenic chemical pollutants on the biodiversity, and the related potential implications for the deterioration of ecosystem goods and services in this area. A contribution in systemising the scientific literature related to this topic is, therefore, urgently needed. We reviewed studies published from 2001 to 2021, focusing on the chemical pollution impact on Eastern African wildlife. Despite an extensive literature search, we found only 43 papers according to our survey methods. We focused on wildlife inhabiting terrestrial ecosystems and inland waters. According to our search, Kenya and Uganda are the most represented countries accounting for about half of the total number of reviewed articles. Moreover, 67.4% of the studies focus on inland waters. The spread of anthropogenic chemicals into tropical areas, e.g. Eastern Africa, and their effects on living organisms deserve greater attention in research and politics. We report a weak increasing trend in publishing studies addressing this topic that might bode well. The combined effort of science and governments is crucial in improving the management of chemical pollutants in the environment for achieving the goals of biodiversity conservation.

Promoting urban ecological resilience through the lens of avian biodiversity

“…Four environmental stressors are present in nearly all urban habitats across geographic zones: chemical pollution, noise, artificial light at night (ALAN), and human presence (Isaksson, 2018). Chemical pollution in urban areas is associated with reduced avian survival (Mitra et al, 2011;Kekkonen, 2017), and is an ongoing concern for both ecological and human health in urban areas (Bolund and Hunhammar, 1999;Cristiano et al, 2021). The most common pollutants in urban areas, globally, are those generated by the combustion of fossil fuels by cars (i.e., nitrogen oxides and soot) (Isaksson, 2018).…”

Net benefit of smaller human populations to environmental integrity and individual health and wellbeing

“…Historically, an increase in human population size is associated with greater threats to biodiversity ( 76 , 77 ), and strongly associated with an increased number of threatened species ( 78–80 ). Factors contributing to species threat include habitat destruction and degradation ( 71 ), direct exploitation such as hunting ( 81 ), invasive species ( 82–84 ), pollution ( 85 , 86 ), diseases ( 87 , 88 ), climate change ( 89 , 90 ), and the synergies emerging from these different drivers ( 91 ).…”

Termites as human foods—A comprehensive review

“…Human well‐being is closely linked to biodiversity as part of the planet's ecosystem (Bennett et al., 2015). Unfortunately, human activities have numerous negative effects on the global environment, such as overpopulation (Cafaro et al., 2022), chemical pollution (Cristiano et al., 2021), burning fossil fuels (Sonter et al., 2018), overexploitation of biological resources (Rawat & Agarwal, 2015), and deforestation (Barlow et al., 2016). The rapid extinction of species, genes, and other biological characteristics under these conditions was shocking (Cardinale et al., 2012).…”