Take me to the River along the African drought corridor: Adapting to climate change Kalahari Rift Valley (KALARIVA) TFCL: Learning from the past to adapt to climate change
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Apr 3, 2020
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Abstract
This paper brings together a wide range of concepts from climate change predictions, palaeoecology, wildlife ecology and sustainable livelihoods in order to prioritise adaptive management measures that are necessary for the conservation of the African megafauna. Climate change predictions emphasise the severe aridity that will surge into southern Africa later this century and must be contrasted with the relatively wetter conditions in eastern Africa. The evolution of African mammals and their adaptive responses to past episodes of climate change is explained by reference to range shifts and movements along Balinsky’s (1962) ‘drought corridor’ that extends from SW Africa northeastwards to Somalia and then westwards across the Saharan-Sahelian zone. The drought corridor today could potentially extend from Kenya southwestward through to Botswana/South Africa and Namibia, via connectivity corridors linking existing wildlife areas, forming the Kalahari-Rift Valley Transfrontier Conservation Landscape (KALARIVA TFCL). The most promising route along the drought corridor links the Chobe – Linyanti – Kwando river systems of Botswana/Namibia with Luangwa Valley in Northern Zambia, along the Zambezi River via Lake Kariba (Matsudonna and Mana Pools) in Zimbabwe. Malawi poses an absolute barrier to such connectivity and by the turn of this Century runs the risk of confining the area to the south almost entirely to the SW arid adapted fauna and that to the north to water dependent ungulates such as elephants, buffalo and zebra. The key movement corridors are identified in a bid to extend the spatial and temporal scale of conservation planning in order to adapt effectively to climate change. The importance of ‘co-existence’ between wildlife and people is emphasised together with the need for local communities to benefit from sharing the KALARIVA TFCL with African wildlife, via new models of conservation financing and management that reward rural African communities for being the true custodians of the African megafauna.
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PerkinsJ. (2020). Take me to the River along the African drought corridor: Adapting to climate change. Botswana Journal of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, 14(1), 60-71. https://doi.org/10.37106/bojaas.2020.77
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References
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Engelbrecht, F, Adegoke, J, Bopape, M.J. (2015). Environmental Research Letters, 10 (8) (2015) doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/085004
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Meester, J. (1965). The Origins of Southern African Mammal Fauna. Zoologica A/ricana 1 (1): 87-93. DOI: 10.1080/00445096.1965.11447302
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Perkins, J.S. (2018). Southern Kalahari piospheres: Looking beyond the sacrifice zone. Land Degrad Dev. 2018; 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2968
Perkins, J.S. (2019). ‘Only Connect’: Restoring Resilience in the Kalahari Ecosystem. Journal of Environmental Management. 249, 109420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109420
Perkins, J.S., Ringrose, S. (1996). Development Co-operation Objectives and the Beef Protocol: The Case of Botswana: A Study of Livestock/Wildlife/Tourism/Degradation Linkages. Report to Metroeconomica Ltd/EU p.65
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Riggio, J., Jacobson, A. P., Robert, J. Hijmans, R.J. and Caro, T. (2019). How effective are the protected areas of East Africa? Global Ecology and Conservation 17, e00573.
Roever, C.L., van Aarde, R.J., Leggett, K. (2013). Functional connectivity within conservation networks: Delineating corridors for African elephants. Biol. Conserv. 157. 128–35.
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Soulé, M. and Noss, R. (1998). Rewilding and biodiversity: complementary goals for continental conservation. Wild Earth 8, 19–28.
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Tøttrup, A.P., Klaassen, R.H.G., Kristensen, M.W., Strandberg, Vardanis, Y., Lindström, Å., Rahbek, C., Alerstam, T., Thorup, K. (2012). Drought in Africa Caused Delayed Arrival of European Songbirds. Science. 338 (6112).1307. DOI: 10.1126/science.1227548.
White, F. (1983). UNESCO Vegetation Map of Africa. Paris.
Beament, E. (2019). Biodiversity collapse in UK continues. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2019/oct/04/biodiversity-collapse-uk-continues
Bertola, L.D., Jongbloed, H., van der Gaag, K..J., de Knijff, P., Yamaguchi, N., Hooghiemstra, H., Bauer, H., Henschel, P., White, P.A., Driscoll, C. A., Tende, T., Ottosson, U., Saidu, Y., Vrieling, K., and de Iongh H.H. (2016). Phylogeographic Patterns in Africa and High-Resolution Delineation of Genetic Clades in the Lion (Panthera leo). Scientific Reports volume 6, Article number: 30807. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep30807.
Bobe, R. (2006). The evolution of arid ecosystems in eastern Africa. Journal of Arid Environments Volume 66, Issue 3, August 2006, Pages 564–584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2006.01.010
Coe, M.J., Skinner, J.D. (1993). Connections, disjunctions and endemism in the eastern and southern African mammal faunas. Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr. 48, 233–255. https://doi. org/10.1080/00359199309520273.
Coe, M., Cumming, D.H.M. and Phillipson, J. (1976). Biomass and production of large Arfrican herbivores in relation to rainfall and primary production. Oecologia.22., 341–354.
Cook, R. (2015). World Cattle Inventory: Ranking of countries (FAO) (August 2, 2015 05:51 PM) https://www.drovers.com/article/world-cattle-inventory-ranking-countries-fao
Cook, R. (2018). World Beef Exports: Ranking Of Countries. Published on: Apr 11, 2019. https://beef2live.com/story-world-beef-exports-ranking-countries-0-106903
Daskin, J., Pringle, R.M., 2018. Warfare and wildlife declines in Africa’s protected areas. Nature. 553 7688. https//doi.org/10.1038/nature25194
Debenham, F. (1952). The Kalahari Today. The Geographical Journal, Vol. 118, No. 1 (Mar., 1952), pp. 12–21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1791232
DHV (1980). Countrywide Animal and Range Assessment Project. 7 vols. European Development Fund and Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Amersfoort/The Netherlands.
Ellis, E.C. (2019). Sharing the land between nature and people. Science, Vol 364, Issue 6447, p1226 –1228.
Engelbrecht, F, Adegoke, J, Bopape, M.J. (2015). Environmental Research Letters, 10 (8) (2015) doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/085004
Engelbrecht, F. (2018). Keynote on climate change and climate risks 18/4/18 SASSCAL Science Symposium, Lusaka, Zambia, 16–20 April.
Hunter, C.G. (1996). Land uses on the Botswana/Zimbabwe border and their effects on buffalo. Southern African Journal of Wildlife Research 26(4):136–150.
Kirk-Spriggs, A.H. and McGregor G. (2009). Disjunctions in the Diptera (Insecta) fauna of the Mediterranean Province and southern Africa and a discussion of biogeographical considerations, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 64:1, 32-52, DOI: 10.1080/00359190909519236.
Kirk-Spriggs, A.H., McGregor, G. (2009). Disjunctions in the Diptera (Insecta) fauna of the Mediterranean Province and southern Africa and a discussion of biogeographical considerations. Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr. 64 (1), 32–52. DOI: 10.1080/00359190909519236
Kissling, W.D., Blach-Overgaard, A., Zwaan, R.E. and Wagner P. (2016). Historical colonization and dispersal limitation supplement climate and topography in shaping species richness of African lizards (Reptilia: Agaminae). Scientific Reports volume 6, Article number: 34014.
Kissling, W.D., Blach-Overgaard, A., Zwaan, R.E., Wagner, P., (2016). Historical colonization and dispersal limitation supplement climate and topography in shaping species richness of African lizards (Reptilia: Agaminae). Scientific Reports (6), 34014.
Lindsay, K., Chase, M., Landen, K., Nowak, K. (2017). The shared nature of Africa's elephants. Biol. Conserv. 215, 260–267. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.08.021
Maree, F.F., Kasanga, C.J., Scott, K.A., Opperman, P.A., Chitray, M., Sangula, A., Sallu, R., Sinkala, Y., Wambura, P.N., King, D.P., Paton, D.J., Rweyemamu, M.M., (2014). Challenges and prospects for the control of foot and-mouth disease: an African perspective. Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports. 2014(5). 119–138.
Martin, E.H., Jensen, M.R., Hardin, P.J., Kisingo, A.W., Shoo, R.A. and Eustace A. (2019). Assessing changes in Tanzania's Kwakuchinja Wildlife Corridor using multitemporal satellite imagery and open source tools. Applied Geography, Volume 110, 102051, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.102051.
Martin, R. (2003a) Species Report for Roan, Sable and Tsessebe. Prepared under the Transboundary Mammal Project of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in March 2003.
Martin, R. (2003b) Species Management Plan for Buffalo. Prepared under the Transboundary Mammal Project of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in March 2003.
Meester, J. (1965). The Origins of Southern African Mammal Fauna. Zoologica A/ricana 1 (1): 87-93. DOI: 10.1080/00445096.1965.11447302
MoD (1965). The Development of the Bechuanaland Economy. Report of Ministry of Overseas Development Economic Survey Mission (November 1965), Published by the Government of the Republic of Botswana. Gaberones, Botswana. 136pp.
Mucova, S.A.R., Filho, W.L., Azeiteiro, U.M. and Pereira M. J. (2018). Assessment of land use and land cover changes from 1979 to 2017 and biodiversity and land management approach in Quirimbas National Park, Northern Mozambique, Africa. Global Ecology and Conservation 16, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00447.
Ojwang, G.O., Wargute, P.W., Said, M.Y., Worden, J.S., Davidson, Z., Muruthi, P., Kanga, E., Ihwagi, F. and B. Okita-Ouma (2017). Wildlife Migratory Corridors and Dispersal Areas: Kenya Rangelands and Coastal Terrestrial Ecosystems.
Osfosky, S.A. (2019). The global burden of (how we manage) animal disease: learning lessons from southern Africa. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 55(4), pp. 755–757. DOI: 10.7589/2019-01-024
Perkins, J.S. (1996). Botswana: Fencing out the Equity Issue Cattleposts and Cattle Ranches in the Kalahari Desert. J.Arid Environ. 33, 503–517. DOI: 10.1006/jare.1996.0086
Perkins, J.S. (2018). Southern Kalahari piospheres: Looking beyond the sacrifice zone. Land Degrad Dev. 2018; 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2968
Perkins, J.S. (2019). ‘Only Connect’: Restoring Resilience in the Kalahari Ecosystem. Journal of Environmental Management. 249, 109420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109420
Perkins, J.S., Ringrose, S. (1996). Development Co-operation Objectives and the Beef Protocol: The Case of Botswana: A Study of Livestock/Wildlife/Tourism/Degradation Linkages. Report to Metroeconomica Ltd/EU p.65
Raseroka, B. H. (1975). Past and present distribution of Buffalo in Botswana. Botswana Notes and Records. 7 (1). 131–140
Riggio, J. and Caro, T. (2017). Structural connectivity at a national scale: Wildlife corridors in Tanzania. PLoS ONE 12(11). e0187407. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187407
Riggio, J., Jacobson, A. P., Robert, J. Hijmans, R.J. and Caro, T. (2019). How effective are the protected areas of East Africa? Global Ecology and Conservation 17, e00573.
Roever, C.L., van Aarde, R.J., Leggett, K. (2013). Functional connectivity within conservation networks: Delineating corridors for African elephants. Biol. Conserv. 157. 128–35.
Schlossberg, S., Chase, M.J., Sutcliffe, R. (2019). Evidence of a Growing Elephant Poaching Problem in Botswana. Curr. Biol. 29. 2222–2228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.061
Skinner, J. D. and Chimimba, C. T. (2005). The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-Region. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107340992.
Soulé, M. and Noss, R. (1998). Rewilding and biodiversity: complementary goals for continental conservation. Wild Earth 8, 19–28.
Thouless, C. R., Dublin, H.T., Blanc, J.J., Skinner, D.P., Daniel, T.E., Taylor, R.D., Maisels, F., Frederick, H.L., Bouché, P. (2016). African Elephant Status Report 2016: an update from the African Elephant Database. Occasional Paper Series of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. No. 60 IUCN / SSC Africa Elephant Specialist Group. IUCN.
Tøttrup, A.P., Klaassen, R. H.G., Kristensen, M.W., Strandberg, R., Vardanis, Y., Lindström, Å., Rahbek, C., Alerstam, T., Thorup, K. (2012) Drought in Africa Caused Delayed Arrival of European Songbirds. Science 338 (6112):1307. DOI: 10.1126/science.1227548.
Tøttrup, A.P., Klaassen, R.H.G., Kristensen, M.W., Strandberg, Vardanis, Y., Lindström, Å., Rahbek, C., Alerstam, T., Thorup, K. (2012). Drought in Africa Caused Delayed Arrival of European Songbirds. Science. 338 (6112).1307. DOI: 10.1126/science.1227548.
White, F. (1983). UNESCO Vegetation Map of Africa. Paris.