Challenges
Across the continent conservation and development are perceived as mutually exclusive resulting in development choices with a negative impact on wildlife and wild lands.
The largest and most serious long-term threat to wildlife in Africa is habitat loss and fragmentation. Combining Africa’s population and economic growth with widespread rural poverty and increasing global demand for arable land and natural resources, African governments face significant pressure to allocate more and more land for agriculture, livestock, human settlement, resource extraction, and infrastructure.
The result is a steady decline in the space available for wildlife and habitat fragmentation. This trend threatens Africa’s iconic species and puts at risk Africa’s economic development and human wellbeing by degrading important ecosystem goods and services.
These challenges cannot be stopped through on-the-ground efforts alone. To successfully combat the loss of the continent’s wildlife and habitats, AWF is tackling threats at the highest levels of government, to bolster our efforts at the local level.
