The Protected Areas System

Major gaps in the distribution of protected areas for threatened and narrow range Afrotropical plants

“…For the majority of the protected area network, this is not surprising, since on the whole, these reserves were established for the protection of large mammals, mostly without consideration of the distribution of other taxon groups including plant species. In other cases the location of reserves has been based more on political, economic and social factors than on conservation requirements, for example many reserves are located in areas of semi-arid variable climate and traditionally utilised by pastoralists (Balmford et al 1992).…”

“…Africa's first wildlife 'protected area' was the Albert National Park, declared in 1925, in what was then the Belgian Congo (Balmford et al 1992). Large numbers of protected areas have been established since.…”

“…Traditionally these protected areas were declared opportunistically (Siegfried 1989) on vast flat savannah regions, such as the Serengeti national park in Tanzania or the Kruger National Park in South Africa, which are famous for their large mammal assemblages. Many of the protected areas were declared during the colonial years to provide opportunities for big game hunting and some have been upgraded to non-hunting areas over the past century (Balmford et al 1992). The network of protected areas covers large areas of savanna woodland habitats, but considerably smaller proportions of other habitats, such as the tropical moist forests and Mediterranean-climate habitats (Burgess et al in press).…”

Gaps in the protected area network for threatened Afrotropical birds

“…In the past the reservation of protected areas was mainly focussed on establishing parks in areas with few people and high concentrations of large mammals (Balmford, 1992). This is reflected in the distribution of protected areas used for these analyses.…”

“…Siegfried, 1989;Pressey and Tully, 1994;Rebelo, 1994, Bruner et al, 2000Scott et al, 2001). In Africa, most large protected areas are found in savanna habitats, where they typically support thriving populations of large mammal species on land that is generally unsuitable for human habitation (Balmford et al, 1992). To some extent the location and declaration of these reserves is a function of the history of the region.…”