Vanishing African wildlife threatens livelihoods

CAPE TOWN (AFP) - Africa’s rich abundance of life seems inexhaustible, but growing pressure on animals and plants could lead to greater poverty, more wars and migration to other continents, experts warned.

From fish in Burkina Faso, to Ethiopian wild coffee, Kenyan forests and traditional medicine plants in the Congo, the continent’s natural resources are being threatened by human activity and climate change, experts say.

“If Africa’s systems degrade and human wellbeing becomes an issue, cycles of poverty, violence and wars will get worse,” John Donaldson of South Africa’s National Biodiversity Institute told AFP.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Cape Town that gathered over 300 policymakers, scientists, and activists from 15 African countries and Germany to discuss research into the protection of plants and animals around the continent.

Surging populations, overuse of land, and climate change threaten to kill off creatures around Africa, where up to 15 percent of all species currently face extinction, the conference heard.

However, on a continent where economies depend heavily on natural resources for mining, agriculture and tourism, changing the behaviour of people to protect animal and plant life is a challenge.