Sustainable development blog : ecology and humanitarian aid

Translated by Marcella Oliviero from http://www.ecologiae.com/rischio-estinzione-specie-acquatiche-africa/21313/

The loss of biodiversity is one of the most pressing problems that governments all around the world have to face at this time, perhaps even more than pollution. Life without biodiversity means the loss of basic resources for human sustenance, economic loss, and the endangering of entire geographical areas.

If we consider that this is happening in Africa, the situation is even more

worrying, as is shown by the latest research published by IUCN (The International Union for the Conservation of Nature ). It demonstrates that more than one out of five species (about 21%) living in the wetlands of the African continent have a high risk of extinction. The research lasted 5 years and involved more than 200 scientists around the world; they have examined 5,167 freshwater species such as fish, molluscs, crabs, dragonflies and aquatic plants upon which depends the survival of millions of people. The results are not encouraging at all. The first risk factor is unregulated agriculture, which makes unauthorised withdrawals of freshwater from the few unpolluted rivers and reservoirs; this deprives freshwater not only from the species that live there, but also for many other people. This could quickly lead to drought and desertification, as has been demonstrated in the example of the Aral Sea in Asia. The most worrying situation involves Lake Victoria: it is one of the largest lakes in Africa, extending into three different countries (Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya). This huge reservoir is now so overfished that researchers believe that nearly half of the 191 species studied, (or 45%) are at risk of extinction or already extinct. The second cause of ecosystem destruction is the introduction of invasive species, such as the Nile perch (Lates niloticus), which is estimated to have caused a sharp drop over the past 30 years of native species, more than by fishing itself. If this destruction is not limited, it is estimated that about 7.5 million people (in the Great Lakes area) will be left without the means to support themselves, leading to all the consequences (like wars, famine and emigration) that we have already seen elsewhere.