The State of Protected Areas and Conservation of Ethiopia’s Iconic Large Mammals: Implications for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Abstract

Despite the creation of several iconic protected areas (PAs) over the past decades, the charismatic megafauna of Ethiopia has continued to decline. Here, we identify the factors that are driving spatial and biological changes in PAs. The findings show that some iconic PAs were downsized while others remained unchanged, but almost all PAs significantly lost their ability to support iconic species, putting the survival of large mammals at risk. Human population growth, limited livelihoods, a lack of political commitment, insufficient funding, and climate change are all underlying threats to national PAs. The unrestricted use of natural resources, habitat degradation, the rapid spread of invasive species, illegal wildlife trade, disease, pollution, human–wildlife conflict, and roadkill are proximate factors that significantly impact upon PAs. As a result, it is of critical importance to change the management paradigm of the existing but largely degraded PA system. The authors, therefore, recommend that rather than focussing only on expanding protected and conserved areas (‘quantity’), management efficiency (‘quality’) should instead be prioritized to halt the dramatic loss of large mammals in Ethiopia.