Sub-Sahara's severe nature losses

Most of the continent's wildlife survives outside protected areas

- Sheree Bega

The Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) across sub-Saharan Africa. BII is shown for terrestrial vertebrates and vascular plants collectively and disaggregated into the constituent species groups. The overall BII score of 76% for the region shows that, on average across all indigenous species, 76% of individuals remain compared with 'intact' (pre-modern industrial society) reference populations.

(Graphic: Supplied)

Sub-Saharan Africa has lost nearly a quarter of its biodiversity since pre-industrial times, according to a major new African-led study.

The research, published on Wednesday in Nature, found that on average, populations of plants and animals across the region have declined by 24%, with some species — especially large mammals — suffering far more severe losses.

Yet the analysis also delivers a crucial insight: more than 80% of the region's remaining wild plants and animals persist outside protected areas, surviving instead in largely untransformed natural forests and rangelands, where people coexist with and depend on biodiversity.

"Conserving and restoring biodiversity, while working towards just and sustainable development, requires a focus on these working lands that sustain more than 500 million people," said the study, which represents the most comprehensive assessment to date of biodiversity intactness in sub-Saharan Africa.

Its strength lies in an unprecedented collaborative approach: over five years, a team of 200 Africa-based experts — including researchers, field ecologists, rangers, tour guides and museum curators - pooled their ecological knowledge to build a continent-wide picture of biodiversity change.