The influence of ecosystems services depletion to climate change adaptation efforts in Africa.
Walter Leal Filho, Ulisses Miranda Azeiteiro, Abdul-Lateef Balogun, Andréia Faraoni Freitas Setti, Serafino A R Mucova, Desalegn Ayal, Edmond Totin, Adeleke Mosunmola Lydia, Felix Kanungwe Kalaba, Nicholas Otienoh Oguge
Author Information
Walter Leal Filho: Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, United Kingdom. Electronic address: w.leal@haw-hamburg.de.
Ulisses Miranda Azeiteiro: Department of Biology & CESAM Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal.
Abdul-Lateef Balogun: Geospatial Analysis & Modelling Research (GAMR) Laboratory, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Malaysia.
Andréia Faraoni Freitas Setti: Department of Biology & CESAM Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal. Electronic address: andreiasetti@ua.pt.
Serafino A R Mucova: Department of Biology & CESAM Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal; Faculty of Natural Sciences, Lúrio University, Pemba, P.O. Box 958, Mozambique.
Desalegn Ayal: Centre for Food Security Studies (CFSS), College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Edmond Totin: Ecole de Foresterie Tropicale, Université Nationale d'Agriculture, Benin.
Adeleke Mosunmola Lydia: Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology, The Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria.
Felix Kanungwe Kalaba: School of Natural Resources, Copperbelt University, P.O. Box 21692, Kitwe, Zambia.
Nicholas Otienoh Oguge: Centre for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law & Policy (CASELAP), University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Climate change is one of the major challenges societies round the world face at present. Apart from efforts to achieve a reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases so as to mitigate the problem, there is a perceived need for adaptation initiatives urgently. Ecosystems are known to play an important role in climate change adaptation processes, since some of the services they provide, may reduce the impacts of extreme events and disturbance, such as wildfires, floods, and droughts. This role is especially important in regions vulnerable to climate change such as the African continent, whose adaptation capacity is limited by many geographic and socio-economic constraints. In Africa, interventions aimed at enhancing ecosystem services may play a key role in supporting climate change adaptation efforts. In order to shed some light on this aspect, this paper reviews the role of ecosystems services and investigates how they are being influenced by climate change in Africa. It contains a set of case studies from a sample of African countries, which serve the purpose to demonstrate the damages incurred, and how such damages disrupt ecosystem services. Based on the data gathered, some measures which may assist in fostering the cause of ecosystems services are listed, so as to cater for a better protection of some of the endangered Africa ecosystems, and the services they provide.
