Amina Mohammed, the deputy secretary general of the United Nations, plans to arrive in Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday ahead of a key meeting on desertification and land use in Abidjan. The meeting, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification (COP15), is considered to be a…
Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to see some of the most severe biodiversity impacts tied to land use, according to researchers who warn that agricultural production will affect some 20,000 species without changes to the global agricultural system. The new findings were published this week in the journal Nature Sustainability. “Ultimately,…
Tanzanian environmental minister Hamisi Kigwangalla visited the scene of a wildfire burning through Kilimanjaro National Park on Wednesday, checking on fire suppression efforts and thanking those battling the flames. Community volunteers have joined professionals in working to put out a fire that TANAPA, the Tanzania National Parks authority, said broke…
Marathon runner Gerima Mustafa of Uganda walked some 664 kilometers across East Africa earlier this year to call attention to threats to the shea nut tree, a source of food, medical products and income for many living from West Africa to Somalia. Now research scientists studying the shea in Burkina…
An estimated 1 million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction within decades and the threats to their survival are accelerating, according to a much-anticipated report on biodiversity from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem…
Scientists from across the globe are placing some pressure on President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar to ensure he makes biodiversity conservation a priority of his five-year term. The researchers from 16 different universities and organizations, including the University of Antananarivo, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Madagascar and the International Union…
Botswana has been named the best African country for safari adventures, narrowly edging out Tanzania for the first time in annual ratings conducted by SafariBookings.com. “Botswana – a study in contrasting landscapes, from the impossibly beautiful Kalahari Desert with its big skies to the watery wonderland of the famous Okavango…
People may think that African wildlife is already facing enough threat from climate change or illegal trafficking, but the continent’s preserves are facing up to USD$2 billion in funding shortfalls that threaten protected areas. That’s according to Peter Lindsey, director of the Lion Recovery Fund and co-author of new research…
The cut marks on ancient bones from a long-extinct giant bird show that humans arrived on Madagascar some 6,000 years before scientists previously thought, according to new findings from a research team led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). The bones of the extinct Madagascar elephant bird, found in…
The global demand for palm oil used in foods and biofuels will mean an expansion of plantations on the African continent, but a new study finds it will be difficult to strike a balance between economic benefit and habitat protection for monkeys, lemur and other primates. Drawing on lessons learned…
Madagascar is known for its breathtaking biodiversity, but it appears that conservation efforts there often are disconnected from the scientific research that might inform the decisions made by managers of the nation’s many protected areas. That’s according to a new study from a team at Bangor University in the UK,…
Toxic toads that arrived in Madagascar as an invasive species pose a threat to the island nation’s wildlife because – unlike animals in the toad’s native Asia – they’ve developed no gene mutations to protect them. That’s the conclusion of a team of European researchers who urge the government in…
Biodiversity continues to decline in every region of the world, and that’s especially a concern for Africa, according to newly released regional reports from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). “Africa is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and this is going to have…
It’s World Wildlife Day on Friday, and African nations join the world with activities planned across the continent and its diverse habitats. This year’s theme for the United Nations event is “Listen to the young voices,” and most of the programs center on the hopes of African youth for a…
Cameroon has committed to restoring over 12 million hectares of deforested and degraded land by 2030 as part of the Bonn Challenge initiative, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has announced. The initiative is a global effort to restore 150 million hectares by 2020, and more than…