Africas national parks increasingly threatened by drought and new developments
Published: 30.09.2022
Africas national parks, whi are home to thousands of species including lions, elephants and https://www.brunosafaris.com/index.php/3-days-mombasa-safari-to-tsavo-east-and-tsavo-west buffalo, are increasingly threatened by low rainfall and new infrastructure projects, warn several experts.
At stake is the prolonged drought in the east of the continent, exacerbated by climate ange, as well as large-scale projects, namely oil and livestock, reports the Associated Press (AP) agency.
The threatened parks range from East Africa – namely the Tsavo and Nairobi parks in Kenya – to Southern Africa – Mkomazi and Serengeti in Tanzania, Quirimbas and Gorongosa in Mozambique or Kruger in South Africa -, and even West Africa – Kahuzi Biega,Salonga and Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo).
In addition to protecting species of flora and fauna, these parks also serve as natural carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide and reducing the effects of global warming.
According to Ken Mwathe of the environmental organization BirdLife International, an estimated 38% of Africa's biodiversity zones are under severe threat due to climate ange and infrastructure development.
“Key biodiversity areas, especially in Africa, have been viewed by investors as dormant and ripe for development,” Mwathe said. “Governments allocate land in these areas for infrastructure development,” he added.
And he exemified that “high voltage lines and other energy infrastructure cause collisions with birds due to poor visibility” and the numbers of birds “killed in this way are not low”.
In an attempt to improve living standards and aieve sustainable development goals, su as access to clean water, increased emoyment or economic growth, African governments have been betting on large projects, many financed by foreign countries, su as China, recalls AP.
For conservationists, however, reacing wildlife with infrastructure is the wrong path to economic growth.
“We have to have a future where wildlife is not separated from peoe,” said Sam Shaba of the Honeyguide Foundation in Tanzania.
Most of Africa's nature parks were created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by colonial regimes who fenced off protected areas and ordered peoe to leave.