Blow to biodiversity

GLOBAL IDEAS: Mr Homes, let's start with the big question - what is the state of biodiversity in Africa?

Volker Homes: The latest red list by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) shows that the number of endangered species is increasing again - in Africa too. So species are still dwindling at an alarming rate. That shows that a United Nations target to drastically reduce the trend by 2010 has failed spectacularly. We all have to work together on reaching this goal. Africa remains one of the most threatened regions in the world.

Are there African countries that are especially problematic?

Take Madagascar for example, which has several species that are unique to the country. It's home to various animals that we know very little about, yet their existence is under threat. There are reptile species in Madagascar and across Africa that are largely undiscovered, but they still appear directly on the IUCN Red List – from monitor lizards to chameleons or geckos.

We've also witnessed severe setbacks in western and central parts of Africa where hunters are ruthlessly poaching elephants and rhinoceroses. We have a poaching crisis on our hands because of growing demand in countries like China and Vietnam. A Vietnamese politician has said that a rhinoceros horn cured his cancer. That's absolute nonsense and can't even be verified medically, but it creates massive interest in obtaining rhinoceros horns. We thought a lot of this illegal trading in animal parts had died out, but instead the black market is thriving again.

That's a bit surprising. Weren't we seeing signs of improvement in the rhinoceros population?

That's correct. The population of black and white rhinoceroses in Africa had shown good signs of improvement in the last 30 years. But now they're declining again. In South Africa, poaching reached new heights this year: by November, 330 rhinos had been killed. There are mafia-like groups at work who hunt animals, armed with hi-tech automatic weapons, four-wheel drives and even helicopters.

We're talking about decades of success in wildlife conservation now hanging in the balance. What can be done to combat the problem?

We need to build up our own units that are just as well-equipped and quick on the ground as the poachers are. And they have to be stationed directly in areas that are home to rhinos. Also, when someone is arrested for poaching, the courts usually hand out mild punishments. That has to change – we need to implement stricter penalties that serve as a deterrent to poachers.

Old problems like poaching are cropping up again. That makes it more difficult to tackle new problems like climate change. How has climate change affected Africa's biodiversity?

The threat is huge. But there is still very little concrete scientific data on the effect of climate change in Africa. There are hardly any studies on the mega fauna, the very large animals, and that's because there is a lack of resources on the continent. As opposed to that, species in Europe and the US are much better researched.

But what climate change impacts do you think we will see in the future in Africa?

There will be more droughts, but also periods of heavy rain – so precipitation patterns in general will likely change dramatically. We won't witness dramatic effects of global warming as are seen in regions like the Arctic or Antarctic, which are the hardest-hit. But we will still see significant changes. The ice caps around Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya are melting much faster than in other parts of the world. Natural species there have to adapt by moving to higher ground. And that's provided that they can migrate. That is an often underestimated part of the climate change debate.

What challenges do animals face?

There are species that have the ability to migrate, like rhinos and elephants. They have a better chance to adapt to climate change. But it's harder for species like amphibians, which live in specific eco-systems and have adapted closely to conditions there. That's why it's not easy for them to escape the impact of climate change. In Tanzania for example, there is a small endemic creature called the Kihansi Spray Toad that lives around the Kihansi and Mhalala waterfalls. The toad would have already been extinct if biologists hadn't saved the species. The toads were returned to the wild in 2010, and scientists installed special sprinkler systems to make sure they can survive. That's an extreme example, but it shows the effort needed for a species to survive. Species, especially unique ones, will die out without us even knowing.

What about other migrating animals like lions and zebras?

They will suffer from the effects of rising population in Africa. The continent is expected to see the strongest growth in the world. More people means more space will be needed, putting more pressure on existing natural reserves and protected areas. It will become harder to designate new areas as protected land. We will simply have to do a better job of protecting the existing zones and expanding them. We will need a new type of management system for the environment.

Do we need climate management too?

The African Savannas will shift due to the impact of climate change. The changes in ecology and grassland cover will lead animals such as elephants and rhinos to migrate. That means we actually need national parks that keep up with this migration.

But we don't have areas like that. That's why we need flexible concepts: new reserves that cross national boundaries where that is appropriate. In Botswana, there are lots of elephants, but in Angola and Mozambique there are very few. That's an example where an exchange would work well. It could mean that entire villages would have to be relocated. Climate change will force those kinds of developments and make us rethink the question of land use.

What do you think is the answer?

We need buffer zones where forest use is controlled. And in bigger areas, you have to control the population growth. The best way to do that is through educational programs. Studies have showed that higher levels of education among women lead to lower birth rates. That's where development work and environmental work have to overlap. Also, people will need alternative sources of incomes outside the national parks. So you need jobs that make poaching and deforestation unattractive.

Have you seen any positive developments?

The Democratic Republic of Congo wants to designate more than 10 percent of its land as conservation zones. The World Wildlife Fund and the German government are working with the German Agency for International Cooperation and the German Development Bank to help Congo realize its goal. And that's important for the primates in Africa because most of them still live outside the national parks and conservation areas. An American researcher in northern Congo recently found one of the largest chimpanzee populations in the entire region. It was previously unknown. There are still undiscovered treasures like that. Discoveries like that are fascinating and encourage us to create new reserves.

Interview: Torsten Schäfer (ss)
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar