Applying the Quaternary in Africa: The Role of the Past in Supporting the Future

Dear Colleagues,

Africa, more than any other continent, is highly reliant on the natural capital and resources for underpinning many national economies. For example, in East Africa, the world famous National Park network brings in vital tourist revenue across the region. The Tanzania and Kenya Borderlands region is home to fourteen protected areas, which include the Amboseli, Kilimanjaro and Serengeti National Parks; these alone attract millions of visitors per year with billions of US$ in associated tourist revenue that is vital to the national economies. Many African countries are dominated by the agricultural or pastoral sectors that in many cases are facing a series of challenges around intensification, environmental change and growing populations. Climate change is highly uncertain, and likewise, the associated impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems, protected areas and associated socioeconomic benefits are largely unknown. One of the key findings from Quaternary science has been the documentation of large and rapid fluctuations in wetlands and lakes, driven by regional hydrological variability. This climatic variability has had massive impacts on water and grazing resources during periods of drought, and is predicted to do so in the future, as pressures on these natural resources intensify due to fragmentation, and increasing human populations. As these pressures continue to intensify and modify natural resources, there is a need for policies and practice that  promote resilience and successful adaptation strategies. Before this can occur, an appreciation is needed about how people perceive climate change, their current adaptation measures, and other factors that may influence decisions to adapt current practices. Again, salutary lessons can be learned from a historical perspective and longer-term Quaternary perspective. Meeting, and addressing, the challenges that African ecosystems face in a world of rising populations and environmental change makes the need to understand human-environment interactions (past, present and future) more pressing, particularly because it is only through people—from local communities to policy makers—that a sustainable mode of human-environment interaction will be desired, implemented and hopefully achieved. This Special Issue welcomes papers from a wide range of disciplines on how a Quaternary perspective on ecosystem and environmental change can be used to assess the challenges to future management of natural capital and natural resources.

Prof. Rob Marchant
Dr. Lindsey Gillson
Dr. Stephen M. Rucina
Guest Editors

• Africa
• natural resources
• environmental change
• natural capital
• applied conservation
• Quaternary perspective
• Ecosystems
• climatic variability
• Adaptive Capacity