Presentacin de PowerPoint

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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa
African seas and coasts of Sub-Saharan Africa
have relatively pristine habitats and hence,
high biodiversity rich.
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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa
Africa possesses several areas of high endemism
including five areas of internationally
recognized biodiversity richness, and these
include The Western Indian Ocean Islands,
Maputaland in Southern Africa, Guinea Forest in
West Africa.
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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa
These Ecosystems and resources have high social,
economical and ecological value They are the
basis for subsistence of the majority of coastal
communities, they support the economy of the
majority of coastal states
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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa

• The ecosystems and the associated resources are
  under threat from both the natural processes and
  from human activities. Hence, the observed
  decline in the richness and in the diversity of
  the ecosystems in Africa
• Deforestation rate was about 0.78 yr-1 in
  1990/00
• Elephants declined about 60 in 80s
• Southern Africa lost about 50 of wetlands in
  90s
• About 80 of Guinea forest have now been cleared
• Number of recorded extinct plants increased about
  50 in 80s
• Over 700 vertebrates and 1000 plants are
  threatened with extinction.

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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa
Natural threats are Associated with extreme
climate events such as floods, droughts, cyclones
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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa

• Anthropogenic threats are of major concern since
  often they cause chronic stresses into the
  ecosystems.
• They can be grouped into two major categories
• Those that act upon the resources directly
• And
• Those that cause the destruction of the habitats
  that sustain the ecosystems and the resources

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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa

• Threats that act directly into the resources
  include
• Overexploitation of the resources due to
• Population pressure
• Market demand
• Economic development
• Use of inadequate harvesting practices

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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa
Threats that causes the destruction of key
habitats. Key habitats concerned are basically
the nursery, breeding and spawning grounds of key
marine and terrestrial species. They sustain
important ecosystems, from which availability of
natural resources are dependent. Thus, they have
a considerable contribution in the biodiversity,
economy of coastal states and constitute basis of
livelihood of most of the coastal
communities. Example Rivers/wetlands, mangroves,
coastal dunes and corals
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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa

• Major threats to key habitats
• Modification of stream flow due to
• Damming the river for hydropower production
• Upstream abstraction of runoff for irrigation,
  urban and industrial demands

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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa

• Major threats to key habitats (cont)
• Destruction of mangroves due to
• Urban expansion
• Overexploitation
• Destruction of seabeds, corals due to
• use of inadequate harvesting practices
• Destruction of coastal dunes due to bad tourism
  practices

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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa
The way forward One of the major challenges of
the African Coastal States is to assure the
Economic growth, mostly dependent on the
exploitation of the natural resources, while at
the same time assure the sustainability of these
resources and of the ecosystems that support
them. This require a sound understanding of the
ecosystem structure and functioning, knowledge
about the factors that determine the availability
and distribution of the resources and adoption of
sustainable strategies of resources uses and
management.
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Threats to coastal and marine biodiversity in
Africa

• Some of the projects of the programme of
  intervention, developed under African Process and
  through coordination of UNESCO/IOC and ACOPS aim
  at
• enhancing the productivity of the ecosystems and
  associated living resources,
• maintenance of biological diversity and
• improving the wellbeing of local communities
• through improvement/maintenance of the breeding,
  nursery and spawning habitats.