Editorial: Towards the Sustainable Use of African Wetlands
John P. Simaika, Albert Chakona, Anne A. van Dam
Abstract
The world's wetlands are hanging on to a thinning lifeline, with only 13% of their former extent remaining Wetlands in Africa probably conform to this picture, but data on trends in African wetland extent is limited Some indicators suggest increasing pressure on African wetlands since the 1990s, such as the decreasing WET Index (UN WCMC, 2017) and the threat status of wetland-dependent species in Africa Major threats include the development of hydropower dams, with some 200 new projects planned in Sub-Saharan Africa African wetlands are important for their global contribution to ecosystem services on which hundreds of millions of rural communities depend directly for their livelihoods Increasingly, the essential role of wetlands in climate change mitigation is recognized Fifty African nations are signatories to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, with 415 Ramsar sites (www.ramsar.org, Access date 22.01.2021). Nevertheless, implementing wise-use strategies remains challenging due to a lack of capacity for policy implementation African countries are looking for a sustainable pathway between wetland development, for sustaining the livelihoods of millions of people; and wetlands conservation, to maintain ecosystem service and biodiversity values of wetlands This Research Topic brings together contributions on their geomorphological classification, biological diversity, and ecological functioning, all relevant to the management of African wetlands.