A place-based assessment of biodiversity intactness in sub-Saharan Africa

Maintaining biodiversity is central to the sustainable development agenda<sup>1</sup>. However, a lack of context-specific biodiversity information at policy-relevant scales has posed major limitations to decision-makers<sup>2,3</sup>. To address this challenge, we undertook a comprehensive assessment of the biodiversity intactness of sub-Saharan Africa<sup>4</sup> using place-based knowledge of 200 African biodiversity experts<sup>5</sup>. We estimate that the region has on average lost 24% of its pre-colonial and pre-industrial faunal and floral population abundances, ranging from losses of <20% for disturbance-adapted herbaceous plants to 80% for some large mammals. Rwanda and Nigeria are the least intact (<55%), whereas Namibia and Botswana are the most intact (>85%). Notably, most remaining organisms occur in unprotected, relatively untransformed rangelands and natural forests. Losses in biodiversity intactness in the worst-affected biomes are driven by land transformation into cropland in grasslands and fynbos (Mediterranean-type ecosystems), by non-agricultural degradation in forests and by a combination of the two drivers in savannas. This assessment provides decision-makers with multifaceted, contextually appropriate and policy-relevant information on the state of biodiversity in an understudied region of the world. Our approach could be used in other regions, including better-studied localities, to integrate contextual, place-based knowledge into multiscale assessments of biodiversity status and impacts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature
Published
2025-12-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09781-7
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.42
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article

A place-based assessment of biodiversity intactness in sub-Saharan Africa

Ara Monadjem, Emmanuel Do Linh San, Nicola Stevens, Frances Siebert et al.
4 citations
Nature
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
4.42
article

A place-based assessment of biodiversity intactness in sub-Saharan Africa

Ara Monadjem, Emmanuel Do Linh San, Nicola Stevens, Frances Siebert, Alta De Vos, Matthew F. Child, Birthe Linden, Chevonne Reynolds, Gareth P. Hempson, Odirilwe Selomane, Hayley S. Clements, Maike Hamann, Bryan Maritz, Geethen Singh, Enrico Di Minin, Karen Joan Esler, Andrew Luke Skowno, Reinette Biggs, Belinda Reyers, Ty Loft
article en
4 citations

Abstract

Maintaining biodiversity is central to the sustainable development agenda<sup>1</sup>. However, a lack of context-specific biodiversity information at policy-relevant scales has posed major limitations to decision-makers<sup>2,3</sup>. To address this challenge, we undertook a comprehensive assessment of the biodiversity intactness of sub-Saharan Africa<sup>4</sup> using place-based knowledge of 200 African biodiversity experts<sup>5</sup>. We estimate that the region has on average lost 24% of its pre-colonial and pre-industrial faunal and floral population abundances, ranging from losses of <20% for disturbance-adapted herbaceous plants to 80% for some large mammals. Rwanda and Nigeria are the least intact (<55%), whereas Namibia and Botswana are the most intact (>85%). Notably, most remaining organisms occur in unprotected, relatively untransformed rangelands and natural forests. Losses in biodiversity intactness in the worst-affected biomes are driven by land transformation into cropland in grasslands and fynbos (Mediterranean-type ecosystems), by non-agricultural degradation in forests and by a combination of the two drivers in savannas. This assessment provides decision-makers with multifaceted, contextually appropriate and policy-relevant information on the state of biodiversity in an understudied region of the world. Our approach could be used in other regions, including better-studied localities, to integrate contextual, place-based knowledge into multiscale assessments of biodiversity status and impacts.

NatureVol. 649(8095)
University of Helsinki (FI), Stockholm Resilience Centre (SE), University of Cape Town (ZA), Aberystwyth University (GB), Stockholm University (SE), University of Eswatini (SZ), University of the Witwatersrand (ZA), Rhodes University (ZA), University of Exeter (GB), Stellenbosch University (ZA), North-West University (ZA), Sol Plaatje University (ZA), University of Oxford (GB), South African National Biodiversity Institute (ZA), South African Environmental Observation Network (ZA), University of Pretoria (ZA), University of Glasgow (GB), University of Venda (ZA), University of the Western Cape (ZA), University of KwaZulu-Natal (ZA)
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Land Use and Ecosystem Services
4.42
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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