Why Should We Care So Much About Old World Tropical Rainforests?

Abrams, Ronald W.; Abrams, Jesse F.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-409548-9.11969-4

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The region also harbours the African Great Lakes that hold over 25% of the world's unfrozen freshwater [35,36] and more than 90% of Africa's total freshwater [37]. Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in Africa also support numerous habitats with exclusive reservoirs of the world's biodiversity, including eight of the world's 36 recognized biodiversity hot spots [38]; they host approximately one-quarter of the world's mammals and birds [39] and have the second largest tropical rainforest with unmatched endemic species globally [40], in addition to aquatic inland and marine amphibians, reptiles and fish [41]. Moreover, Key Biodiversity Areas are continuously being identified and mapped in the region for monitoring and conservation [42,43].…”

Section: Ecosystems In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring biodiversity loss in rapidly changing Afrotropical ecosystems: an emerging imperative for governance and research

Achieng

Arhonditsis

Mandrak

et al. 2023

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Africa is experiencing extensive biodiversity loss due to rapid changes in the environment, where natural resources constitute the main instrument for socioeconomic development and a mainstay source of livelihoods for an increasing population. Lack of data and information deficiency on biodiversity, but also budget constraints and insufficient financial and technical capacity, impede sound policy design and effective implementation of conservation and management measures. The problem is further exacerbated by the lack of harmonized indicators and databases to assess conservation needs and monitor biodiversity losses. We review challenges with biodiversity data (availability, quality, usability and database access) as a key limiting factor that impacts funding and governance. We also evaluate the drivers of both ecosystems change and biodiversity loss as a central piece of knowledge to develop and implement effective policies. While the continent focuses more on the latter, we argue that the two are complementary in shaping restoration and management solutions. We thus underscore the importance of establishing monitoring programmes focusing on biodiversity–ecosystem linkages in order to inform evidence-based decisions in ecosystem conservation and restoration in Africa. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Detecting and attributing the causes of biodiversity change: needs, gaps and solutions’.

show abstract