Eastern Afromontane Hotspot: Threats to Biodiversity and Conservation

Abstract

The Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot (EABH) regions are one of the Earth’s biodiversity hotspots and biodiversity-rich areas, stretching from Saudi Arabia to Mozambique and Zimbabwe. However, the regions are among the most threatened areas. The biodiversity is concentrated in small forest fragments in mountainous areas that are inaccessible to the human population. The most common threats to biodiversity conservation are residential and commercial development, agricultural land expansion, excessive exploitation of biological resources, expansion of energy production, mining, transportation corridors, natural ecosystem modification due to land use change, the introduction of invasive alien species (IAS), disease, pollution, human-wild animal conflicts, and climate change. All of the countries in the hotspot, except Saudi Arabia, are known for poverty and rapid human population growth, resulting in high levels of natural ecosystem modification through settlement and agricultural land expansion, forest degradation, and the introduction of exotic species. In addition, the hotspots are vulnerable to climate change as they reside in high-elevation alpine and montane areas, which are susceptible to global temperature rise. Therefore, anthropogenic pressures are the major factors contributing to the degradation and loss of biodiversity in the hotspot regions.