'Africa's ecosystems in serious trouble'
afrol.com, Copyright 2000
December 1, 2000
afrol.com, 1 December - A landmark assessment of the world's ecosystems, including those in Africa, warns that the accelerating degradation of the continent's lakes, forests, grasslands and other ecosystems does not stop at national borders.
- The report paints a picture of Africa's ecosystems in serious trouble, said Professor Reuben Olembo, chairman of Kenya's National Committee on the Implementation of Environmental Management and Coordination Act, commenting on World Resources 2000-2001: People and Ecosystems: The Fraying Web of Life. "An important element of this report is its emphasis on human beings as an integral part of ecosystems; it is a relationship too long ignored by environmental scientists."
The report was presented in a recent panel discussion organized by the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS). It is the first time that the results were publicly presented in Africa. World Resources 2000-2001 is a project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank, and WRI. Some 175 scientists and researchers participated in the four-year effort.
The report globally examines coastal, forest, grassland, and freshwater and agricultural ecosystems. It analyzes their health on the basis of their ability to produce the goods and services that the world currently relies on. These include production of food, provision of pure and sufficient water, storage of atmospheric carbon, maintenance of biodiversity and provision of recreation and tourism opportunities.
The statistics in World Resources Report, summarized graphically in an ecosystems scorecard, paint a dismal picture of over-fished oceans, creeping desertification, and destruction of coral reefs and forests. It identifies human population growth and poverty as two important drivers causing the decline of Africa's and the world's ecosystems.
Among the case studies and ecosystem-related problems discussed in the report are the efforts to revive the hillsides of Machakos District outside of Nairobi, the national effort to restore the water supply of South Africa stolen by invasive plants, and the decline of native fish populations in Lake Victoria.
Janet Overton, the report's managing editor, pointed out that the case studies were chosen to highlight ecosystem problems and management at local levels. "Through these examples of success, we can identify the new heroes of the environmental movement," she said.
The report cites Lake Victoria, the world's largest tropical lake, as an example of how accelerating degradation does not stop at national borders. The lake, surrounded by Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, is an important source of food and employment for the region's 30 million people.
Before the 1970s, Lake Victoria had more than 350 species of fish from the cichlid family, of which 90 percent were endemic. However, the introduction of Nile perch and tilapia caused a collapse in the lake's biodiversity. It also resulted in deforestation since wood is needed to dry the oily perch, compared with the cichlids, which could be air-dried. Forest clearing in turn is increasing siltation and eutrophication in the lake, putting in jeopardy the Nile perch and tilapia fishery.
Lake Victoria's Nile perch fishery generates as much as US$ 400 million in export income, but few of the villagers around the lake benefit from it. While tons of perch find their way to diners in Europe, scientists have documented protein malnutrition among people around the lake.
The World Resources Report says that people have focused too long on how many goods they can take from lakes and other ecosystems, with little attention to the services that they provide. Yet, they provide essential services - like habitat for other species, climate control, and nutrient recycling - that cannot be replaced at any reasonable price.
- Lake Victoria illustrates how profound and unpredictable trade-offs can be when management decisions do not take into account how the ecosystem will react, said Dr. John Mugabe, executive director of ACTS. "The poor, who often depend directly on ecosystems for their livelihoods, suffer most when ecosystems are degraded."
The report recommends that governments and people view the sustainability of Lake Victoria and other ecosystems as essential to African life. It calls for an ecosystems approach to managing the world's critical resources, which means evaluating decisions on land and resource use in light of how they affect the capacity of ecosystems to produce goods and services.
Lessons drawn from the World Resources Report suggest four tenets of an ecosystem approach:
· Tackle the information gap. Managing ecosystems effectively requires a detailed understanding of their current condition and how they function.
· Engage in a public dialog on goals, policies, and trade-offs. Dramatic improvements in ecosystem condition and capacity are possible when governments and nongovernmental organizations create opportunities to air diverse approaches toward ecosystem management.
· Recognize the value of ecosystem services. Removing subsidies and explicitly pricing ecosystem services can be politically difficult but can promote efficient resource use.
· Involve local communities in managing ecosystems. Local communities are often the most prudent ecosystem managers. Involving local communities can also yield a more equitable distribution of the benefits and costs of ecosystem use.
- We believe People and Ecosystems and other critical assessment activities provide a strong foundation for addressing environmental problems and the alleviation of poverty in this millennium, said Dr. Timothy Foresman, director of UNEP's division of early warning and assessment.
Source: Based on UNCCD