TJAPESBLOG12: 2015

Introduction

Biodiversity is defined by Merriam-Webster as the existence of many different kinds of plants and species in a given environment. Biodiversity is so important because one type of species cannot survive by itself. The more species richness an area has, the more likely the ecosystem is to survive and thrive. The biodiversity hotspot we chose was the Western African forests. It is classified as a hotspot because of its 108,104 km2 of protected area, the nonexistent number of extinct species, and 1,800 different plant species.

Background Information

The region we chose was the Western Africa and the countries that occupy the hotspot are Senegal, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad.

West Africa is a diverse region and includes numerous different environments located in the area. The conditions change from Desert to Tropical Rainforest as you get closer to the equator. The some parts of their culture in Western Africa is that they gather around for storytelling where they talk about their ancestors, they also play chess and soccer in their free time, They listen to Afrobeat and also Mbalax they play these during social gatherings or just for fun.

The meals they eat are skimpy on the meat but packs a lot of spices, starch and fat containing a lot of protein. Family traditions are that females are able to be wed when they hit puberty and instead of having a government they talk to the tribal leaders.

The Biome is the Western African Forest which is very tropical and can get up to more than 200 cm of rain annually they are dominated by semi-evergreen and evergreen deciduous tree species. Half of the world's species may live in these forests such as apes, monkey, snakes and big cats. The level of net primary productivity in the tropical rainforest is about 9,000 kcal/m2, according to Living in the Environment.

Discussion

The Western African Forests have a diverse variety of ecosystems, which span throughout many western countries in Africa. Many of these ecosystems include natural services. According to Kojo Amanor,” Trees are often preserved in the banks of streams and rivers and around headwaters to maintain water resources”(Amanor 3). These forests also provide popular goods to be traded, such as coffee and cocoa and bush meats.

In the forest, soil degradation, climate change, deforestation, and the traditional lifestyles of the native people living there cause ecological degradation to occur. Deforestation occurs because methods of harvesting lumber are unsustainable. These methods include clear cutting which clear forests completely,usually for agriculture, leading to soil degradation. Soil degradation causes a lack of crops for natives and agriculture businesses. Carbon emissions from around the world change the climate. These changes increase or decrease rainfall, completely changing the tropical areas in the forests. Goods found in this area, which are wanted by the world, also feed into this. Mining in Sierra Leone, commercial fuel wood, and farm lands for agriculture, influence the destruction because many natives depend on these methods to survive.

It's common for natives in these areas to live in smaller tribes. These tribes don't have sophisticated government's, financial support, and education systems we see in our world because of this, the natives don't understand the damage being done to the forests, allowing more damage to be done. The degradation is causing areas such as Côte d'ivoire and Sierra Leone to experience a loss in forest and an increase in fragmentation. This loss in forest and fragmentation disrupts the species diversity. Species such as the tree species, Heritiera utilis, and animal species such as, antelopes and forest pigs, are threatened. These threats not only reduce the diversity of species, but also make the environment more vulnerable to natural disaster.

These problems which are seen in the Western African Forests are causing the conservation and restoration programs to be installed. Since the 1970’s small movements have been made to address these problems, like the forest laws in Senegal. Yet, with the struggling financial problems and civil conflict in some areas, these ideas and protected areas that already exists, cause the creation of these improvements to become difficult.

Conclusion

In conclusion the Western African Forest is a very diverse home to many habitats and living organisms. It not only shows the culture and how everyone lives but how everything around it survives. Many natives rely on the forest for survival due to the lack of help and government. For many civilians the forest is their way of life but what they don't truly realize or understand is that the more of the forest they destroy the more they will struggle in the end because they’re causing deforestation which can not only affect the change of climate but can cause more natural disasters to take place. They’re starting to see changes in the land and are taking a call to action but due to the lack of help and money trying to replace what they destroyed will be a very difficult process .