Science
Reports, Published Articles, and Other Works
Shepherding Sub-Saharan Africa's Wildlife Through Peak Anthropogenic Pressure Toward a Green Anthropocene
with Michael O’Brien-Onyeka
Annual Review of Environment and Resources
Vol. 47:91-121, October 2022
Abstract
Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA’s) iconic biodiversity is of immense potential global value but is jeopardized by increasing anthropogenic pressures. Elevated consumption in wealthier countries and the demands of international corporations manifest in significant resource extraction from SSA. Biodiversity in SSA also faces increasing domestic pressures, including rapidly growing human populations. The demographic transition to lower fertility rates is occurring later and slower in SSA than elsewhere, and the continent’s human population may quadruple by 2100.
SSA’s biodiversity will therefore pass through a bottleneck of growing anthropogenic pressures, while also experiencing intensifying effects of climate change. SSA’s biodiversity could be severely diminished over the coming decades and numerous species pushed to extinction. However, the prospects for nature conservation in SSA should improve in the long term, and we predict that the region will eventually enter a Green Anthropocene. Here, we outline critical steps needed to shepherd SSA’s biodiversity into the Green Anthropocene epoch.
Commentary
Indigenous peoples proven to sustain biodiversity and address climate change: Now it’s time to recognize and support this leadership
Steven Nitah
One Earth
April 23, 2021
Summary
People around the world increasingly see the urgent need to tackle the twin emergencies of climate change and biodiversity loss. We can make progress on both these fronts if the world also recognizes the leadership of Indigenous peoples who oversee the most healthy, biodiverse, and intact lands and waters left on Earth.
Ghana Guidance Document & Toolbox
After years of farm-level and project-scale efforts which have not brought some of the expected results, many are asking, “what is the best way to protect the environment and support producers?”. The global consensus is that reducing deforestation, ensuring the sustainability of agricultural systems, and supporting smallholder farmers’ livelihoods can only be achieved when they are jointly addressed at landscape or jurisdictional (regional or state) scales, in addition to local levels.
