DAAD climapAfrica Friday Lecture Series

Biodiversity & ecological data-deficiency in Africa: Causes, consequences and potential directions 

30.07.2021 04.00 pm - 05.00 pm (EAT)

Africa is known of its diverse ecosystems that yields as well, a great faunal and floral diversity.  These diverse resources have a significant environmental, economic, social and cultural role in the continent, as well as largely contribute to the livelihood of millions of its people.    

Despite this claimed richness, there is a gap of information regarding the current state and trends of many of these ecosystems and populations. Not only this, but also their responses to recent environmental vulnerabilities (e.g. climate change) and human induced factors (e.g. deforestation) are not fully studied and documented yet in many areas in the continent. This in part, due to the political instability and governance issues in some of African states. Furthermore, natural resources institutions are generally weak with a little (if not total absence of) funding, facilities, trained personal to conduct ecological monitoring programs. 

Obviously, this chronic data deficiency regarding these biodiversity components, is not only affecting conservation efforts and planning in Africa, but also likely to reduces the continent’s ability to fill-up its internationally binding conventions/ commitments such as UN’s SDGs and many other environmental conventions (e.g., Convention on Biological Diversity). 

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