FAO.org

Theme:

The central role of biodiversity, protected areas and wildlife in sustainable development of Africa

Aim and scope of Nature & Faune:

Nature & Faune is a broad multidisciplinary publication on topics that are critical for achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. It is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and bilingual (English and French) publication of the FAO Regional Office for Africa. It disseminates scientific, technical and policy knowledge and views, with emphasis on exchange of experiences related to the sustainable use and conservation of wildlife, protected areas, forests, fisheries, livestock, land, soils, water, and  energy in Africa.

The publication, produced twice each year, is disseminated worldwide, offering more visibility to authors. It reports on preliminary findings of programmes and projects, and draws attention to Africa-relevant publications and information and seeks a balance of authors from different countries, drylands as well as tropical areas. Contributions from governmental agencies as well as the academia and practitioners are welcome. Nature & Faune carries announcements of funding opportunities, research possibilities, meetings and other activities of interest to its readership.

Subject and deadlines for next issue:

Africa is immensely rich in biodiversity. Its living organisms comprise around a quarter of global biodiversity and it supports the earth’s largest intact assemblages of large mammals that roam freely in many countries. Africa’s biomes extend from mangroves to dryland forests and deserts, from the Mediterranean coast to the tropical rain forests and woodlands. Africa enjoys a highly varied weather conditions, from ice-capped mountains through temperate conditions in elevated landscapes to humid and sub-humid and dry lowlands and deserts.

Africa’s biodiversity is crucial for the production of enough and nutritious food in the face of challenges such as climate change, emerging diseases, pressures on feed and water supplies and shifting market demands of the growing human population. Further, biodiversity contributes to maintaining forest ecological services and ecosystem health, addressing climate challenges and preventing and combatting land degradation and desertification, and is a key for the tourism development sector, recreation, cultural life and knowledge of societies throughout Africa.

For the purpose of this special issue of our journal, we focus on the current roles and potential of African biodiversity in food security and nutrition, livelihood enhancement, resilience building and socio-economic development.  The emphasis is on protected areas, wildlife and sustainable development, but other contributions from initiatives and projects enhancing biodiversity and focusing on the role of biodiversity in sustainable development will be welcome. Included in the benefits of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use is the crucial role of wildlife and protected areas on which millions of people depend for their subsistence. In some cases, they benefit directly, through the consumption of food obtained from wildlife (plant and animal) resources or produced in or around protected areas. Others benefit from tourism and other income generating activities in/near protected areas, or benefit from grants associated with their roles in supporting the development and conservation of protected areas. Access to infrastructure and health care associated with supporting the protected area development is a noteworthy example.

For several decades, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity have been the focus of considerable international attention and efforts, as demonstrated by the fact that it has been included in many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. There is growing international recognition that safeguarding biodiversity and managing natural resources sustainably must be priorities in national plans if we are to deliver nutritious food for present and future generations and achieve the African Union Agenda 2063.

To that end, the November 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt adopted, several novel decisions related to biodiversity, inter alia, on sustainable wildlife management , and on protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures(OECM) . The conference theme was, “Investing in biodiversity for people and planet.”  In addition, the key issues related to the sustainable wildlife management were also the major focus of the second Wildlife Forum that was organized by the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management  and the African Union Commission  on the margins of that Conference.

“Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want”, a remarkable plan of action to consolidate and position Africa’s priorities and concerns in the SDGs, underscores the interconnectivity between people, the planet and the economy as it aims for prosperity and well-being, for unity and integration, with freedom from conflict and improved human security. The Agenda 2063 is aspirational in outlook, requires country-specific actions some of which are hinged on biodiversity, encouraging their integration and mainstreaming into core policy areas.

The next edition of Nature & Faune journal due in June 2019 will focus on the central role of biodiversity, protected areas and wildlife in the sustainable development of Africa.  It invites authors to submit original contributions to the following overarching areas: 

• Realising the genetic resource gains for food and agriculture from natural biodiversity conservation
• Sustainable use of wildlife resources (including nutritious food : fruits, bush meat, etc.), and medicinal plants)
• Protected areas management and development and livelihoods challenges (legal, social and economic considerations, prevention and mitigation of human wildlife conflicts, community-based engagements, gender aspects)
• Protected areas management and other effective area-based conservation measures: challenges and opportunities
• Roles of local, national, regional and international stakeholders in the management of protected areas and of biodiversity: challenges and opportunities
• The impact on biodiversity of REDD and REDD+ and other carbon sequestration and  climate change adaptation and mitigation measures (Where indigenous forest cover is encouraged and biodiversity is enhanced)
• The impact of increased commercialisation and research on traditional fruits, vegetables and trees on the management of protected areas
• The impact of agricultural practices on biodiversity and in particular on their impacts on protected areas and wildlife
• Illegal trade in products from protected species
• Improving Africa’s share of income from globally-marketed nature-based tourism
• The contribution and inclusion of products and services from protected areas in local and national accounting systems

This issue of the journal will offer a dedicated platform to concerned stakeholders in the broad society as well as institutional and individual specialists to share their thoughts and information about various projects and programmes and other initiatives related to sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in Africa, from local to national, transboundary or regional level. Africa has a large number of projects with substantial outcomes and the overview of these projects and lessons learned from them will probably encourage interested people elsewhere in the world to connect with kindred efforts in the region. Case studies of the projects are especially encouraged.