Sea-level rise, a consequence of climate change, is progressively affecting coastal areas around the globe. In turn, protected areas are keystones for protecting coastal biodiversity and the ecosystems services ensuring sustainable livelihoods. Effective management and adaptation plans are needed to maintain ecological function and integrity. In the present article, we used a coastal digital elevation model to simulate inundation surfaces and a prioritization index for ranking management interventions in 278 coastal protected areas from 27 African countries. Of these, 15 areas and eight countries demonstrated a high need for proactive management actions because of high levels of biodiversity, international conservation relevance, and exposure to sea-level rise. From the array of management actions available, tailored solutions are being implemented according to the morphology and location of the areas. Concerted action by international, government, and local partners is required for successful protection of the areas, including implementation of adaptive plans and monitoring progress schemes.

Article impact statement: If not carefully assessed, landscape changes could negatively affect dryland-adapted imperiled biodiversity in the Sahel.

Systematic conservation planning in freshwater ecosystems faces multiple challenges because of the dynamic nature of rivers and their multiple dimensions of connectivity. In intermittent hydrological systems connectivity is functional when water is available, allowing the exchange of aquatic individuals between isolated freshwater ecosystems. Integrating these isolated systems in their hydrological context is essential when identifying priority areas for conservation, in order to try to minimize the propagation of threats into target water bodies (management units) from the surrounding landscape. Here, the use of a systematic planning approach is demonstrated to identify a set of priority management units to preserve freshwater biodiversity in an arid system of fragmented water bodies immersed in a landscape subject to a range of impacts. Twenty‐six water‐dependent taxa from 59 mountain rock pools (gueltas) of three southern Mauritanian mountains were used as a case study. A conservation planning tool (marxan) was used to find priority conservation areas to integrate intermittent hydrological systems in their hydrological context, promote connectivity, and minimize the downstream propagation of threats. Three types of connectivity were analysed: (i) no connectivity, (ii) connectivity between gueltas, and (iii) connectivity between gueltas and sub‐catchments. Considering different types of longitudinal connectivity affects the number and spatial allocation of the priority gueltas selected, and the conservation status of the gueltas and their upstream areas. Incorporating connections between gueltas and upstream locations in the modelling resulted in the selection of gueltas in areas with a low human footprint and in the increased connectivity of the solutions. The results obtained revealed important locations for local biodiversity conservation, and the method presented can be used when assessing the propagation of potential waterborne threats into isolated management units. The framework developed allows connectivity to be addressed in conservation planning. It can be replicated in regions with similar isolated habitats that connect through intermittent hydrological systems and can also be applied to lateral and vertical hydrological connectivity.

Detailed knowledge about biodiversity distribution is critical for monitoring the biological effects of global change processes. Biodiversity knowledge gaps hamper the monitoring of conservation trends and they are especially evident in the desert biome. Mauritania constitutes a remarkable example on how remoteness and regional insecurity affect current knowledge gaps. Mammals remain one of the least studied groups in this country, without a concerted species checklist, the mapping of regions concentrating mammal diversity, or a national assessment of their conservation status. This work assessed the diversity, distribution, and conservation of land mammals in Mauritania. A total of 6,718 published and original observations were assembled in a spatial database and used to update the occurrence status, distribution area, and conservation status. The updated taxonomic list comprises 107 species, including 93 extant, 12 Regionally Extinct, and 2 Extinct in the Wild. Mapping of species distributions allowed locating concentrations of extant mammal species richness in coastal areas, along the Senegal River valley, and in mountain plateaus. Recent regional extinction of large-sized Artiodactyla and Carnivora has been very high (11% extinct species). From the extant mammals, 11% are threatened, including flagship species (e.g., Addax nasomaculatus and Panthera pardus). Species richness is poorly represented by the current protected areas. Despite the strong advances made, 23% of species categorise as Data Deficient. Persisting systematics and distribution uncertainties require further research. Field surveys in currently unexplored areas (northern and south-eastern regions) are urgently needed to increase knowledge about threatened mammals. The long-term conservation of land mammals in Mauritania is embedded in a complex web of socioeconomic and environmental factors that call for collaborative action and investment in sustainable human development. The current work sets the baseline for the future development of detailed research studies and to address the general challenges faced by mammals and biodiversity in the country.

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