12th Drop: Long Term Ecosystem Research Networks in Africa

~HELLO!! Hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year break :)

Research Networks in Africa, the way forward?

Over the course of this term we have covered what ecosystem services mean, the various different ecosystem services we see at various African floodplains and lake ecosystems, how they benefit he local communities, how ecosystem services should be seen from a more interdisciplinary perspective considering both human and ecological aspects and lastly recommended approaches (adaptive and integrated management approaches) to addressing ecosystem services issues in Africa. Thus I would like to end off this blog on ecosystem services by exploring the way forward for addressing climate change and ecological challenges in Africa: improving knowledge and understanding through extensive research networks.

Long-Term Ecological Research Networks in Africa

The complex interactions and feedbacks that occur between the socio-economic system of local communities and ecological system of ecosystems make climate change and ecological problems within Africa an extremely challenging and pressing issue to address. However to address these challenges through adaptive or integrated management approaches requires in-depth knowledge and understanding of these systems and their responses. Only with proper understanding of these socio-economic and ecological systems and their responses can well-informed and sound decisions be made by the relevant office holders/ authorities in managing these challenges. Yevide et al. (2015) highlights various existing long-term ecological research (LTER) networks in America and Asia, briefly touching on how they have contributed to further understanding and management of ecosystems. More importantly the authors go on to assess existing LTER networks in Africa, highlighting coverage gaps within the networks and how these networks can and should be improved.

Here are some of my thoughts:

1) Comprehensive monitoring and research networks in Africa

• Consistent and extensive monitoring and research networks needed
• For identifying and dealing with unexpected climate and ecological changes in ecosystems
• For highlighting early warning signs of environmental harms
• Especially important for Africa dealing with climate change and developmental issues
• Provide a deeper understanding of complex interactions between socio-economic and ecological factors surrounding ecosystems like floodplains and lake systems that locals are heavily dependent upon for their livelihoods
• Only with such an understanding can well-informed and sound decisions be made with respect to trade-offs that have to be made

> Given the ecological challenges and the importance of ecosystems to local communities in Africa, proper management strategies sustaining ecosystems and their services are crucially needed. While adaptive and integrated management approaches represent viable management strategies that can be applied, both approaches still require substantial understanding of these ecosystems. Hence the need for comprehensive monitoring and research networks to help provide greater understanding of these complex human-ecosystems - so that sound decisions can be made by authorities with regards to the appropriate management strategies to be applied.

2) Challenges with establishing LTER networks?

• Coverage gaps especially in Central Africa
• Concentration of sites only in some areas of biomes across the African regions
• Some established networks were not even active
• Some of these gaps/ inactive sites due to political instability threatening research and conservation efforts (Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Collaboration and involvement of African NGO institutions needed as well
• Ensure that research remains relevant in addressing societal concerns
• Political will in sustaining such networks needed
• Sustainable funding needed for such extensive and long term LTER networks

> Challenges surrounding the establishment and sustainability of such LTER networks are also affected by human and development factors (i.e. Political will, stability and availability of funding). These efforts are needed considering that these networks are to address complicated socio-ecological problems of a large spatial and temporal scale. Authors have suggested that LTER networks built upon existing networks of a smaller regional scale before expanding them further towards continental coverages. More importantly securing greater funding for such networks is needed, especially from wider African NGO institutions, to ensure the sustainability of such networks in generating relevant information of African ecosystems and their changes.

THANKS!! So this marks the end of my posts for this blog on ecosystem services in Africa. Once again I would like to thank anyone who has followed through these various weekly posts of mine. I hope you guys had an as enjoyable and fruitful time as I had in reading about these articles. Hope everyone enjoyed this last post and have a fruitful writer break :)

Photo of lake ecosystem in Botswana by David McGonigal