A new report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reveals that Eastern and Southern Africa is halfway to achieving the coverage goal of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Target 3. The region has protected 17.24 per cent of its terrestrial area, encompassing 5,544 protected and conserved areas over 2,618,967 square kilometres.
The GBF Target 3 encourages countries to protect 30 per cent of their landscapes and seascapes. Eastern and Southern Africa is making notable progress towards this target. However, the report indicates considerable variability within the region, with 38 per cent of countries remaining below 10 per cent in terrestrial coverage, based on data from the World Database on Protected Areas.
The report, “The State of Protected and Conserved Areas in Eastern and Southern Africa - Second Edition,” was launched by the IUCN in collaboration with Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife. The event took place at Nairobi National Park during the Africa Conservation Forum held in Kenya from June 26-28, 2024.
Covering 26 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa — Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe — the report collates information on all protected and conserved areas. This includes their designations at national and international levels, governance and management mechanisms and progress within the region.
Governance in the Eastern and Southern African region is still largely government-driven. However, efforts are being made to involve a broader range of stakeholders, including Indigenous peoples, local communities, and the private sector, through public-private partnerships and collaborations with tourism operators.
The report highlights a significant shift towards greater involvement of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in conservation and protected area management. For example, of the 316 protected areas governed by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, 35.44 per cent are in Namibia, with the remainder in Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and one site in Botswana.
Private governance is predominantly found in southern Africa, particularly in Namibia and South Africa, and is mostly linked to wildlife tourism, game breeding, and trophy hunting industries.
The countries in the region have diverse needs and priorities for development, including sustainable conservation, which necessitates revising legislation and policies to allow for more inclusive conservation practices. The conservation landscape in Eastern and Southern Africa is characterised by a complex array of laws and policies governing protected areas. Despite the importance of these legal frameworks for biodiversity preservation, several challenges persist.
A significant challenge in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia is the dispersion of mandates across various ministries responsible for tourism, forestry, wildlife, agriculture, and mining. The responsibilities for protected area management are often divided among different government bodies, leading to inefficiencies and coordination difficulties. This lack of harmonisation hinders streamlined decision-making and integrated conservation efforts.
Public-private partnerships are essential for enhancing the effective management of protected and conserved areas in the region. While some countries, such as Zambia and Zimbabwe, have established robust PPP frameworks, others, such as Uganda, South Africa and Tanzania, still face challenges in implementation.
Despite numerous challenges and escalating threats to conservation, all countries in the region have committed to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the GBF. These commitments must be supported by the necessary political will and resource allocations, both regionally and globally, to ensure the full implementation of the targets.
Accurate, current and comparable data to measure progress against the GBF targets, particularly Target 3, are essential to support planning and resource allocation.