TURNING SCIENCE INTO ACTION
Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resources Management in Africa

Edited by E. Kalipeni, I. Kakoma, Y. O. Sanogo, K. Fawcett, and R.E. Warner

This timely volume is a direct result of the First International Research Conference on Biodiversity and the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources held in Kigali Rwanda 23rd to 25th July 2007. The conference was organized by the Republic of Rwanda, Ministry in the Office of the President in Charge of Science and Technology in collaboration with: IDRC, CI, NEPAD, UNESCO, TWAS, NSF, IRST, NUR, REMA, ORTPN, ISAR, ISAE, DFGFI, and RDGG among others. As Africa enters the 21st Century it is imperative that science is put into

This timely volume is a direct result of the First International Research Conference on Biodiversity and the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources held in Kigali Rwanda 23rd to 25th July 2007. The conference was organized by the Republic of Rwanda, Ministry in the Office of the President in Charge of Science and Technology in collaboration with: IDRC, CI, NEPAD, UNESCO, TWAS, NSF, IRST, NUR, REMA, ORTPN, ISAR, ISAE, DFGFI, and RDGG among others. As Africa enters the 21st Century it is imperative that science is put into action to utilize the continent’s resources on a sustainable basis and preserve its rich biodiversity. The chapters in this volume contribute to this imperative by concentrating on issues concerning biodiversity conservation and the management of natural resources in Africa. The chapters interrogate four major themes with reference to the environment, natural resources and biodiversity, all of which call for striking a balance between sustainable use of natural resources and preservation/conservation of such resources.

Broadly, these four themes are: (1) conservation biology; (2) sustainable management of natural resources, (3) ecosystem health; and (4) economics, tourism, conservation and communities. Chapters under the first theme focus on the biology, behavior and ecological processes of threatened species and their habitats. Chapters under the second theme shed light on the ways and means of utilizing Africa’s resources in a manner that ensures their sustainability for the benefit of local communities while preserving such resources for posterity. Discourses under this theme also offer insights on the impact of biological, economic and social research on conserving Africa’s rich biodiversity. The chapters falling under the third theme decisively demonstrate that the interface between ecosystems, humans, domestic animals and wildlife health is an emerging and important area of research. The fourth theme deals with issues of ecotourism by focusing on a tourist industry geared towards offering sustainable livelihoods to local communities while promoting the preservation of fauna and flora. These chapters present detailed research on the role and nature of tourism and ecosystem services in biodiversity conservation and social and economic development at the national and local community levels.

However, the aforementioned four themes are not exhaustive in encompassing all the excellent contributions contained in this book. Other chapters interrogate various facets of natural resource utilization such as nutrition at the community level, bioprocessing and food security, important vectors of diseases such as mosquitoes as well as the anti-venom and medicinal potential of plants used in traditional medicine for snake bites and diarrhea. In summation, this is indeed a timely volume that contains a rich set of empirically researched papers which examine biodiversity and natural resources management from different vantage points of view. It contributes significantly to turning science into action for Africa’s biodiversity conservation in the 21st century.

ABOUT THE EDITORS
Ezekiel Kalipeni (Ph.D.) is Program Director of the Geography and Spatial Sciences Program at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia, and Professor of Geography and African Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Ibulaimu Kakoma (DVM, Ph.D.) is Professor of Pathobiology in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Yibayiri Osee Sanogo (Ph.D.) is a Molecular Biologist and Geneticist at the Illinois Natural History Survey and the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Katie Fawcett (Ph.D.) is Director of the Karisoke Research Center, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Ruhengeri, Rwanda.

Dick Warner (Ph.D.) is a Professional Scientist at the Illinois Natural History Survey and an Adjunct Professor in the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

CATEGORY
Biosciences, Agriculture, Development Studies/AFRICA