Protected areas in tropical Africa: Assessing threats and conservation activities

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorTranquilli, S.
dc.contributor.authorAbedi-Lartey, M.
dc.contributor.authorAbernethy, K.
dc.contributor.authorAmsini, F.
dc.contributor.authorAsamoah, A.
dc.contributor.authorBalangtaa, C.
dc.contributor.authorBlake, S.
dc.contributor.authorBouanga, E.
dc.contributor.authorBreuer, T.
dc.contributor.authorBrncic, T.M.
dc.contributor.authorCampbell, G.
dc.contributor.authorChancellor, R.
dc.contributor.authorChapman, C.A.
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-26T10:59:25Z
dc.date.available2017-10-26T10:59:25Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractNumerous protected areas (PAs) have been created in Africa to safeguard wildlife and other natural resources. However, significant threats from anthropogenic activities and decline of wildlife populations persist, while conservation efforts in most PAs are still minimal. We assessed the impact level of the most common threats to wildlife within PAs in tropical Africa and the relationship of conservation activities with threat impact level. We collated data on 98 PAs with tropical forest cover from 15 countries across West, Central and East Africa. For this, we assembled information about local threats as well as conservation activities from published and unpublished literature, and questionnaires sent to long-term field workers. We constructed general linear models to test the significance of specific conservation activities in relation to the threat impact level. Subsistence and commercial hunting were identified as the most common direct threats to wildlife and found to be most prevalent in West and Central Africa. Agriculture and logging represented the most common indirect threats, and were most prevalent in West Africa. We found that the long-term presence of conservation activities (such as law enforcement, research and tourism) was associated with lower threat impact levels. Our results highlight deficiencies in the management effectiveness of several PAs across tropical Africa, and conclude that PA management should invest more into conservation activities with long-term duration.en_US
dc.identifier.other10.1371/journal.pone.0114154
dc.identifier.urihttp://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/handle/123456789/22244
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_US
dc.titleProtected areas in tropical Africa: Assessing threats and conservation activitiesen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

Files

License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science (DABCS)