Abstract
AbstractThe Albertine Rift is one of Africa's most biodiverse regions, but is threatened by habitat loss as a result of agricultural expansion and human development. Previous studies estimated that 30% of the region has been lost to agricultural conversion and we estimate here that 33% is allocated for mining concessions. For conservation planning, we used niche models for species endemic to the Albertine Rift and those that are globally threatened. We assessed where to conserve these species using three scenarios: (1) a baseline assuming equal conservation costs across all grid cells in the study area, (2) a scenario locking in existing protected areas (i.e. always selecting them by default) and assessing which unprotected areas require conservation, and (3) a scenario considering mining planned across the region. Marxan analyses produced similar results for the three scenarios, highlighting the importance of existing protected areas and the value of several community-managed or provincial protected areas in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The current protected area network covers 134,246 km2 and an additional 64,586 km2 would be required to ensure the conservation of all threatened and endemic species outside the parks and wildlife reserves. However, if trying to avoid mining concessions this increases to 145,704 km2, an area larger than the existing protected areas. Some mining concessions harbour species with a restricted range and would thus need to be protected to ensure the persistence of threatened and endemic fauna and flora. These mining concessions should be challenged by the conservation community.
Highlights
Africa has been described as the ‘last frontier’ for development and there are plans to increase foreign investment in the continent (Ohwoso et al, )
Even with costs assumed equal across all cells, the analysis showed that most of the important areas fall within the existing protected area network (Fig. )
The Albertine Rift region is under pressure from agricultural expansion linked to high human population densities, and from potential developments, mining concessions
Summary
Africa has been described as the ‘last frontier’ for development and there are plans to increase foreign investment in the continent (Ohwoso et al, ). Most of this global interest is focused on natural resource extraction, supported by major infrastructure development projects planned across Africa (Laurance et al, a). These projects include a growing network of roads (Laurance et al, ), pipelines, railways and hydroelectric dams (Laurance et al, b) planned for development. We show here how such approaches can be used to minimize the impacts of planned mining in one of Africa’s most biodiverse regions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
