Cited by 687Wildlife Ecology and ConservationConservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementWildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses

Large mammal population declines in Africa’s protected areas

Craigie, Ian D., Baillie, Jonathan E.M., Balmford, Andrew, Carbone, Chris, Collen, Ben, Green, Rhys E., Hutton, Jon M.·2010·Biological Conservation

Abstract

Protected areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of global conservation efforts but their performance in maintaining populations of their key species remains poorly documented. Here, we address this gap using a new database of 583 population abundance time series for 69 species of large mammals in 78 African PAs. Population abundance time series were aggregated to form a multi-species index of overall change in population abundance. The index reveals on average a 59% decline in population abundance between 1970 and 2005. Indices for different parts of Africa demonstrate large regional differences, with southern African PAs typically maintaining their populations and western African PAs suffering the most severe declines. These results indicate that African PAs have generally failed to mitigate human-induced threats to African large mammal populations, but they also show some successes. Further development of our index could help to measure future progress towards post-2010 targets for reducing biodiversity loss.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.biocon.2010.06.007

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39 of 39 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • State-protected conservation areas are unlikely to be sufficient to protect viable populations of large carnivores.

    “It is increasingly recognised that state-protected conservation areas are unlikely to be sufficient to protect viable populations of large carnivores”

    From The impact of land reform on the status of large carnivores in Zimbabwe (2016) · cites this paper as Craigie et al., 2010

  • Many protected areas have failed to sufficiently protect large mammals from anthropogenic threats.

    “Many protected areas have failed to sufficiently protect large mammals from anthropogenic threats (Craigie et al., 2010; Lindsey et al., 2014)”

    From The impact of land reform on the status of large carnivores in Zimbabwe (2016) · cites this paper as Craigie et al., 2010

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Authors
Craigie, I. D., Baillie, J. E. M., Balmford, A., Carbone, C., Collen, B., Green, R. E., & Hutton, J. M.
Affiliations
  • Zoological Society of London (GB)
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
  • Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (GB)
  • UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (GB)
Corresponding author
Craigie, Ian D.
Venue
Biological Conservation
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2010-09
Volume
143
Issue
9
Pages
2221-2228
ISSN
0006-3207 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2083504817
Cited by
685
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 55 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 54 · 2018: 42 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 59 · 2015: 43 · 2014: 48 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 34
FWCI
23.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Biological Conservation (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Natural Environment Research Council
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses
Keywords
large mammals, population decline (ecology), protected areas, conservation effectiveness, anthropogenic threats, biodiversity loss, regional variation

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