Changing

Where previously poachers were subsistence or small-scale operators, now, organized groups engage in ruthless killing sprees. Poaching in Africa today involves militias, crime networks, and even terrorist groups motivated by the demand for ivory and rhino horn in Asian countries predominantly. The illegal killing of wildlife is more efficient than ever before — the syndicates equip poachers with gear such as military-grade weapons, helicopters, and night-vision goggles. In one of the worst events on record, armed poachers on horseback in Cameroon’s Bouba N’djida National Park slaughtered as many as 650 elephants over three months in early 2012.

The story of mountain gorillas in recent history is one of violence and turmoil, but also hope and fragile recovery. Through poaching, civil war and genocide, large-scale habitat loss, disease, and hunting for the pet trade, the mountain gorilla hung on. Then, with the help of conservationists and enlightened governments, the gorillas did better than that. Where they numbered perhaps 600 at their lowest point in the 1980s, today they are tipping past 1,000. “Kwita Izina” — an annual celebration in which Rwanda’s newest baby gorillas are named — last year named 19 new babies and the year before that, 22.

As global weather patterns continue to shift and human population growth rates rise, water scarcity is fast becoming one of this century’s most complex challenges. More than 4 billion people across the world face severe water scarcity due to the withdrawal of more water than is sustainably available. In Africa, this reduced access to clean water sources not only impacts human welfare in urban and rural areas, it is also claiming wildlife species, fragile ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them.

Compared to Africa’s other great apes, the bonobo has been relatively less studied. Its geographic range stretches 500,000 square kilometers across the Democratic Republic of Congo’s remotest tropical forests — difficult-to-reach areas with a history of regional political unrest. As such, research on bonobo ecological preferences, habitat use, and distribution has been mostly limited to small areas accessible by foot. However, with increased pressure from hunting and habitat degradation facing this endangered great ape, further study has become increasingly critical.

Not only are carnivores critical to the long-term viability of ecosystems, their presence is also a strong indicator of healthy prey populations. As they face a combination of threats — retaliatory killings by livestock keepers, declining prey base, habitat decline and human conflict ­— conserving ecologically viable and functional populations of large carnivores in their natural habitats is paramount but challenging.

With the planet’s human population projected to reach 9 billion by 2050, the demand for arable land to produce food, fuel and fiber is on the rise. Many look to Africa to meet this demand, viewing the continent as replete with vast expanses of unused land.

Education is not only a systematic approach to gaining knowledge, but it is also a source of empowerment. The unfortunate reality is a high percentage of individuals in rural Africa do not have access to a quality education and are being left behind. The highest rate of out-of-school children exists in sub-Saharan Africa — 9 million girls and 6 million boys between the ages of 6 and 11 will never attend school. Marginalization consistently impedes the education of female and rural students in Africa.

There is greater biodiversity in Africa’s Albertine Rift region where Virunga National Park is located than in any other ecosystem in Africa. This richly diverse array of habitats is home to critical populations of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas.

Extremely remote, Maringa-Lopori-Wamba is one of the least-developed regions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a vast landscape measuring 74,000 sq. km—covered in rainforest, swamps, and rivers—with no roads and where the population faces extreme poverty. Spreading the message of conservation is not easy.

Shifting weather patterns have complex impacts on natural systems, many of which are the cornerstone of Africa’s economic developments as it grows rapidly. The continent’s biodiversity is a vital natural resource at stake as overall temperatures rise. With rainfall projected to increase in eastern Africa but significantly reduce in the south, the risk of flash floods and harsh droughts is high.