Policies for biodiversity conservation: the case of Sub-Saharan Africa

Why does biodiversity conservation matter, and what can be done about it? T he article discusses the options in the case of Sub-Saharan Africa, drawing on the results of a Darwin Initiative project on the ecology and economics of biodiversity conservation in the continent. It uses the case of Sub-Sah aran Ati-ica to illustrate both the consequences of biodiversity loss and t he constraints within which policy-makers operate. To most people the biodi versity loss that matters is not:the global extinction of species, but the effects of local change in nora and fauna on watershed protection, soil con servation, habitat, productivity and amenity. For this reason, biodiversity conservation concerns even the poorest communities. But because poverty, i ndebtedness, insecurity of land tenure and other social conditions affect t he way in which people respond to incentives, the policy options for biodiv ersity conservation may be different in different parts of the world.