As part of the Mava Foundation’s support to the IUCN World Heritage Agenda for Nature programme, and in partnership with the UNESCO Africa Nature initiative, ESARO’s Conservation Areas and Species Diversity programme:
• Provides direct capacity building support to World Heritage Managers in the region;
• Seeks to develop more long term interventions to enhance the management of World Heritage sites in the region; and
• Convenes multi-stakeholder dialogues to address conflicts between environmental conservation and economic development objectives; to improve land-use planning, maintaining ecological connectivity and ultimately strengthening resilience to climate change.
Eastern and Southern Africa
IUCN’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) has its regional headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and country offices in Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, and has over 100 members in the region including State Members and non-governmental organizations. IUCN ESARO covers 24 countries in the eastern and southern African region.
The region
The eastern and southern Africa region has high numbers of endemic species and the continent’s largest remaining populations of large mammals such as elephants, rhinoceros and carnivores.
The region hosts the last large ungulate migrations left on the continent: the wildebeest migration in Tanzania-Kenya, and the White-eared Kob, Tiang and Mongella gazelle migration in southern Sudan-Ethiopia. Botswana has the largest African elephant population, estimated at 28% of the known global population. Tanzania is the remaining stronghold for lions with 16,800 animals from an estimated continental population of 23,000-39,000.
Diverse ecosystems range from arid dry lands to moist tropical forests which feature in many of the region’s world-renowned parks and reserves, such as the Serengeti, Kruger, Etosha and the Maasai Mara.
Threats to biodiversity in eastern and southern Africa include:
- Habitat loss and degradation
- Illegal killing and trade
- Invasive alien species
- Climate change
- Human-wildlife conflict
These threats not only result in the loss of biodiversity but also constrain the ability of local communities to benefit from the sustainable utilization and management of natural resources.
Contact details
IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office
Technical Coordinator - Leo NISKANEN
P.O. Box 68200 00200 Nairobi, Kenya
Email: Leo.Niskanen@iucn.org
