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13.30 - 14.15 14.15 - 14.30 REID, ROBIN S., International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya, (r.reid@cgiar.org) PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE IN AFRICAN LANDSCAPES: IS THE FUTURE OF THEIR CO-EXISTENCE A REALITY OR WISHFUL THINKING? The state of Africa’s mega-fauna is unclear, particularly in human-dominated landscapes outside protected areas. Here, I attempt to ask two questions: When do people successfully co-exist with mega-fauna and when do they not? What does this suggest about the future of large wildlife over the next few decades? To do this, I review the literature from across the continent and give examples from recent data collected in East African savannas. I then present potential futures of selected species of large mammals, using human — wildlife population relationships and human population growth models. The literature, on balance, shows more examples of wildlife decline than maintenance in the face of increasing human domination of landscapes, with a few notable exceptions. Much wildlife also has been lost where there is little human domination because of insecurity and revolution; in other instances the state of wildlife is simply unknown. In a few places, peopled landscapes appear to support more wildlife than adjacent protected areas because moderate human use facilitates wildlife use. Future scenarios suggest that people will continue to intensify land use where wildlife is abundant, especially in East Africa, where human pressure on wildlife-rich landscapes is some of the highest on the continent. 14.30 - 14.45 VAN JAARSVELD, ALBERT S. and Nyawira Muthiga. Conservation Planning Unit, Department of Zoology & Entomology & Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa, asvjaarsveld@zoology.up.ac.za (ASvJ), Kenya Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 82144, Mombassa, Kenya, nmuthiga@africaonline.co.ke (NM). CLIMATE CHANGE AS AN IMPORTANT THREAT TO BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN AFRICA: FACT OR FICTION? Against the backdrop of socio-economic and political challenges faced by African states the threat posed by global climate change may appear remote or even insignificant. The reality is however, that the degree and rate of climate change expected across the continent is likely to seriously compromise the continents biodiversity estate as well as ecosystem service delivery to large numbers of people. An overview of predicted climate changes, its consequence for critical vegetation types, coral reefs, species, protected areas, ecosystem services, health systems and agricultural systems illustrates significant losses of vital resources, considerable geographical displacement or increased land-use conflict in the near future. Collectively these effects may not only undermine the biodiversity estate of the continent, but also exacerbate current socio-economic and political realties, escalating the potential for human tragedy and regional tension. 14.45 - 15.00 Eardley, Connal and MERVYN MANSELL. Agricultural Research Council, Plant Protection Research Institute, Private bag X134, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. vrehcde@plant5.agric.za (CE); <vrehmwm@plant5.agric.za> (MM) POLLINATOR CONSERVATION FOR HUMAN SURVIVAL Pollination is essential for ecosystem service. Although many plants are wind pollinated, most are animal-pollinated, making the conservation of pollinators fundamental to the maintenance of biological diversity, and diversity in human diet. Pollination normally precedes regeneration, and initiates processes that result in dormancy and dispersal. Sexual reproduction in plants also provides food for other organisms, including man. The variety of plant foods available is a combination of food types and plant diversity, and includes pollen, nectar (that is converted into honey), fruit, seeds, roots and foliage. In both natural areas and agricultural lands pollinators must be sufficiently abundant to sustain their service. The conservation of pollinators must consequently revolve around the maintenance of the pollination process. Criteria for the conservation of a process differ from those applied to the conservation of threatened species; sufficient abundance to maintain the population must be translated into adequate numbers to sustain organisms that feed on a pollinator’s host plant. Pollination has been a concern for millennia, and its importance is recognized in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD mechanism dealing with this issue is the International Pollinator Initiative (IPI), and Africa has played an important role in the development of the IPI. 15.30 - 15.45 MUGANGU, TRINTO, Guy Suzon, Faramalala Harisoa and Charles Doumenge. UNDP-GEF, 73 Rue Maindombe, C/Kitambo, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo <tm@ic.cd> (TM) ; Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées, Antananarivo, Madagascar <divb@dts.mg> (FH). FORESTS: ARE THEY THE LAST FRONTIER FOR CONSERVATION IN AFRICA? Tremendous loss of biodiversity in Africa followed the shrinking of its forests since the Quaternary when forests covered almost 95% of the continent, including the Sahara and Kalahari deserts. However, the last century, especially the last 40 years, witnessed an accelerated and irreversible loss of Africa’s forests and biodiversity. We present continental- and country-scale evidence of a linear relationship between forest shrinkage and loss of biodiversity in Africa. Our data indicate that biodiversity hotspots are correlated with fragmented forests in East and West Africa, the Congo-Guinean biome, the mountain and highland forest ecosystems (Nimba, Fouta Djallo, Cameroon, Albertine Rift), and the Cape, Madagascar, and gallery forests. Forest shrinkage and biodiversity loss are currently taken seriously, especially given people’s dependence on forest biological resources. Many countries are prioritising their land use and conservation planning strategies by reserving critical sites as protected areas through policy and modest means of management. There is an increasing devolution of biological resource management from government to local communities, but it remains uncertain whether measures taken so far can reverse the trend. However, we are optmistic that Africa’s forests will stand against desertification and could represent the future’s last frontier for biodiversity conservation and its sustainable utilisation. 15.45 - 16.00 MURUTHI, PHILIP, African Wildlife Foundation, P. O. Box 48177, Nairobi, Kenya. E-mail: Pmuruthi@awfke.org PROMOTING LARGE-SCALE CONSERVATION IN AFRICA: ISSUES AND SOME WAYS FORWARD. Conservation organizations are developing and rolling out broad-scale conservation approaches in different ways and in diverse contexts. This paper compares AWF’s Heartland Conservation Process to the large-scale approaches of organizations with programs in African landscapes in which AWF is operating and chronicles AWF’s experiences and lessons emerging from applying the process in some these within country and cross-border sites. Large-scale conservation makes if there are shared resources, threats, efforts, and potential to benefit from shared resources. Consultation processes have varied predicated upon initiatives and plans across landscapes. Large-scale conservation has largely entailed cross-border collaboration, but many sites are not formal TBNRM areas. Differences among approaches include where conservation should be done, how it should be done, the scale of at which it should be done and the tools / methods that should be used. But approaches are similar in some respects such as in the identification of conservation targets and collaborations can be made more fruitful. Advancing broad-scale conservation for sustainable impact will require explicitly articulated strategic plans, supporting policy, clarity of responsibilities and roles, commitment and empowerment, among others discussed in this paper. 16.00 - 16.15 Worden, Jeff and CHRISTIAN CHIMIMBA. International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya, <j.worden@cgiar.org> (JW); Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa, <ctchimimba@zoology.up.ac.za >(CC). CONFLICT AND DISEASE: CONSERVATION’S GREATEST ENEMY IN AFRICA Reports of conflict and disease in Africa dominate international headlines. There is no doubt that these twin disasters of instability have taken a devastating toll on people of this vast continent. However, what does this mean for conservation? How have guns and germs, and the general instability that they sow, influenced the current status of conservation in Africa? In this paper, we consider the past, present and future impact of instability on conservation in Africa. The interaction between instability and conservation is indeed complex, and the intensification of conflict and instability has brought new urgency to our understanding of its impact on conservation. With as much as a conservative 20% of the continent impacted by conflict and disease, an assessment of the current situation is critically needed. Through case studies from West, East, and southern Africa, we explore the effects of instability on Africa’s threatened species and habitats. In the interest of future management and intervention, we propose an "Instability Index" for monitoring the effects of disease and insecurity on conservation in Africa. Only through an understanding of the nature and extent of the problem can we propose useful guidelines to conservationists for addressing the complexities of instability in Africa. 16.15 - 16.30 NAUGHTON, LISA and PAULA KAHUMBU. Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, CI, 1919 M St, Washington, D.C. 20036 (LN) and Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, 550 N Park Street, Madison, WI 53706 (LN) <naughton@geography.wisc.edu>, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, <pgkahumbu@hotmail.com> (PK) CONSERVING ELEPHANTS IN FOREST FRAGMENTS: BIODIVERSITY AND LOCAL COMMUNITY CONCERNS Maintaining elephants in forest fragments presents serious challenges given their impact on local biodiversity and neighboring communities. We describe socioeconomic impacts of crop raiding by elephants at Kibale Forest, Uganda where elephants account for >50% of all damage to wildlife. However, their damage is patchy and affects only a few farms who suffer severe losses. Guarding and other individual defensive strategies have proven ineffective. Among crop raiding species, only elephants cause individuals to abandon farms, and smallholders are particularly vulnerable. At Shimba Hills Reserve, Kenya, electric fence barriers protect neighboring farmers from crop raiding. This placates local communities, but the confined and growing population of elephants has had devastating effects on the forest. Compounding the problem is the patchy distribution of elephants with a concentration of bulls in a small area. Bulls topple trees resulting in rapid changes in forest canopy structure which alters microclimate and light conditions, and changes the environment for the re-establishment of canopy trees. Foraging preference and avoidances also alter floristic composition of the forests. Forest recovery after elimination of elephants may be delayed due to high levels of current damage. We identify several management options and discuss their financial, ecological, ethical and political costs. 16.30 - 16.45 MUGANGU, TRINTO, UNDP-GEF, 73 Rue Maindombe, C/Kintambo, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo <tm@ic.cd> FUNDING CHALLENGES: IS THE DONOR THE PROSECUTOR, JUDGE AND EXECUTIONER OR IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH THE AFRICAN RECIPIENT? This paper describes the experience of an African applicant seeking a grant from an international funding agency. Potential factors that may influence the success or failure of an African’s grant application, and the significance of a review process that allows a re-submission following referees’ initial comments, are discussed. By contrast, funding challenges from a donor’s perspective subsequently experienced by the same applicant but while engaged by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for African and non-African proponents across the African continent are also described. For the past 5 years, 130 grant proposals were received and reviewed for eligibility, with the applicant directly involved in 35 GEF grant proposals. Although applicants or major drivers of these proposals were classified as either African or non-African, there was no significant difference between the two groups. Overall, however, African applicants tended to be less successful grant-seekers. It was concluded that African applicants may have the potential to succeed in their grant applications so long they apply "grant-man-ship" principles, especially by aligning their objectives with donor institutional mandates, following guidelines, and meeting deadlines. 16.45 - 17.00 DU TOIT, JOHAN and Belinda Reyers. Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa jdutoit@zoology.up.ac.za (JDT); Conservation Planning Unit, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa (BR). COMMUNITY-BASED CONSERVATION AND TRANSBOUNDARY PARKS: ARE THEY EFFECTIVELY CONSERVING AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY? The prevailing conservation paradigm for Africa rests heavily on promoting community-based wildlife conservation (CBWC) and establishing transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs). Key assumptions underlying CBWC are: (1) if villagers have full proprietary rights over their wildlife resources their vested interests will restrict hunting to sustainable levels; (2) that indigenous ecological knowledge provides the basis for villagers to manage their wildlife resources sustainably. These assumptions presuppose that villagers have the ecological tools to estimate sustainable offtake levels and that traditional ethics of resource-use favour sustainability despite current human population densities and the use of rifles for hunting. An assumption of TFCA planning is (3) that in addition to political, cultural and economic benefits, TFCAs contribute significantly to biodiversity conservation without sacrificing landuse efficiency. Using examples from southern Africa we question these three assumptions and argue that windows of opportunity for biodiversity conservation are closing fast across the African continent. Appropriate ecological tools have to be provided and employed to ensure that CBWC is based on sustainable hunting and that TFCA planning incorporates issues of reserve design to achieve effective representation of the biodiversity hierarchy. We outline approaches to address these challenges for Africa at community and regional scales. 17.00 - 17.30 Panel Discussion (to include closing remarks by Paula Kahumbu and Chris Chimimba) |