opment priorities, but this would need to take into account the substantial environmental implications for the coastal and marine environment (UNECA 2017).
Political instability and lack of political capacity plague many aspects related of
coastal and marine management. For example, instability in some countries in
eastern and western Africa has led to increased piracy in some areas (e.g. the Gulf
of Guinea, off the coast of Somalia). Lack of capacity has precluded the coordination
between and within coastal SSA countries to develop and implement integrated
coastal zones and ocean management programmes (UNECA 2016b, 2017). Similarly institutional constraints have contributed to coastal and marine degradation
through, for example, the inability to internalize the cost of ‘clean’ ballast water in
ship design and operation, implement relevant multi-lateral environmental agreements and promote cleaner plastic production and use practices (UNDP 2016). A
major overarching challenge, as in other parts of SSA, is the lack of resources and
capacity to deal with the multi-faceted nature of coastal and marine environments
(UNEP-WCMC 2016).
Finally, similar to other SDGs, there are major data gaps and a lack in methodological definitions for most SDG14 targets. For example, only targets 14.4.4 and
14.4.5 have indicators for which there is readily available data and an agreed
methodology (SDG Centre for Africa 2019).
1.2.15 SDG 15: Life on Land
SSA contains a high diversity of endemic species and unique ecosystems that cater
for multiple human needs (IPBES 2018). For example, natural resources from forests
and agro-ecosystems support most of the livelihoods and economic output across the
continent. In particular, more than 70% of the population depends on forests and
woodlands for their livelihoods through multiple ecosystem services such as timber,
fuelwood, wild food and medicinal plants, among others (IPBES 2018; CIFOR
2005). Many countries have experienced extensive net loss of forest area between
2010 and 2015, with four of the top ten countries located in SSA (i.e. Nigeria,
Tanzania, Zimbabwe, DRC) (FAO 2015). Such high deforestation rates could
possibly be due to the low proportion of forest area under long-term management
plans (UNECA 2018). However, despite the prevailing terrestrial ecosystem loss and
degradation, there has been some appreciable improvement in slowing down deforestation and increasing protected area coverage across SSA (FAO 2010). On average, 46.1% of the important terrestrial biodiversity sites are protected (one of the
highest rates in the world), with 44% of SSA countries already protecting more than
half of their important terrestrial areas (SDG Centre for Africa 2019).
Yet, despite the large fraction of protected terrestrial ecosystems, many areas of
critical biodiversity importance remain outside of protected areas. Unsustainable
land use change and management practices in such areas are driven by
interconnected economic activities and demographic processes related to agriculture,
mining, livestock production and urbanization, which collectively pose a major
1 Sustainability Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Context of the. . .
33
Political instability and lack of political capacity plague many aspects related of
coastal and marine management. For example, instability in some countries in
eastern and western Africa has led to increased piracy in some areas (e.g. the Gulf
of Guinea, off the coast of Somalia). Lack of capacity has precluded the coordination
between and within coastal SSA countries to develop and implement integrated
coastal zones and ocean management programmes (UNECA 2016b, 2017). Similarly institutional constraints have contributed to coastal and marine degradation
through, for example, the inability to internalize the cost of ‘clean’ ballast water in
ship design and operation, implement relevant multi-lateral environmental agreements and promote cleaner plastic production and use practices (UNDP 2016). A
major overarching challenge, as in other parts of SSA, is the lack of resources and
capacity to deal with the multi-faceted nature of coastal and marine environments
(UNEP-WCMC 2016).
Finally, similar to other SDGs, there are major data gaps and a lack in methodological definitions for most SDG14 targets. For example, only targets 14.4.4 and
14.4.5 have indicators for which there is readily available data and an agreed
methodology (SDG Centre for Africa 2019).
1.2.15 SDG 15: Life on Land
SSA contains a high diversity of endemic species and unique ecosystems that cater
for multiple human needs (IPBES 2018). For example, natural resources from forests
and agro-ecosystems support most of the livelihoods and economic output across the
continent. In particular, more than 70% of the population depends on forests and
woodlands for their livelihoods through multiple ecosystem services such as timber,
fuelwood, wild food and medicinal plants, among others (IPBES 2018; CIFOR
2005). Many countries have experienced extensive net loss of forest area between
2010 and 2015, with four of the top ten countries located in SSA (i.e. Nigeria,
Tanzania, Zimbabwe, DRC) (FAO 2015). Such high deforestation rates could
possibly be due to the low proportion of forest area under long-term management
plans (UNECA 2018). However, despite the prevailing terrestrial ecosystem loss and
degradation, there has been some appreciable improvement in slowing down deforestation and increasing protected area coverage across SSA (FAO 2010). On average, 46.1% of the important terrestrial biodiversity sites are protected (one of the
highest rates in the world), with 44% of SSA countries already protecting more than
half of their important terrestrial areas (SDG Centre for Africa 2019).
Yet, despite the large fraction of protected terrestrial ecosystems, many areas of
critical biodiversity importance remain outside of protected areas. Unsustainable
land use change and management practices in such areas are driven by
interconnected economic activities and demographic processes related to agriculture,
mining, livestock production and urbanization, which collectively pose a major
1 Sustainability Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Context of the. . .
33