61 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 6 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Diary   

Africa Month: African Mammal Population Cut in Half

Follow Me on Twitter     Message Reynard Loki
As Africa's human population grows, its non-human mammal population dwindles

A study conducted by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Cambridge University published last year in Biological Conservation found that Africa's large mammal population has dwindled 59% in just 40 years.

"We weren't surprised that populations had dropped but we were surprised by how large the drops had been," said lead author Ian Craigie in an interview published last month on Mongabay.com.

"The massive declines in West Africa are likely due to the lack of financial and personnel resources, high rates of habitat degradation and the growing bushmeat trade," according to the ZSL.

Wildlife habitats are being decimated across the continent from human encroachment and expansion, deforestation from corporate logging and the growth of agriculture, the illegal bushmeat trade and poaching and the effects of anthropogenic climate change. In short, the wildlife in Africa -- and indeed throughout the world -- is clearly losing the fight against their biggest foe: humans.

And while the International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that 40 percent of world's species are endangered, Homo sapiens keep on multiplying at a frightening rate. At the current rate of growth, the human population will balloon from 6.9 billion today to 9.3 billion by 2050. (In 1960, there were less than 3 billion people.)

Among the ten most populated countries in the world, Nigeria had the highest rate of human population growth -- almost 27% since 1950 -- according to the United Nations Population Division.

The continent's population of 1 billion people is projected to grow to 1.9 billion by 2050.

But out-of-control population growth is far from just an African problem. In his book, The Coming Famine: The Global Food Crisis and What We Can Do to Avoid It , Professor Julian Cribb argues a catastrophic global food shortage will hit by mid-century.

There are simply too many people. And the rest of the world's species are paying the price.

"Although the results indicate that African national parks have generally failed to maintain their populations of large mammals, the situation outside the parks is almost undoubtedly worse," said Craigie in the ZSL release.

"Many species...are practically extinct outside national parks."

Rate It | View Ratings

Reynard Loki Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Reynard Loki is a New York-based artist, writer and editor. He is the environment and food editor at AlterNet.org, a progressive news website. He is also the co-founder of MomenTech, a New York-based experimental production studio whose projects (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend