The WildCare Institute Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa was established to provide in situ and ex situ conservation support for wildlife of the Horn of Africa. The Saint Louis Zoo has been involved in cooperative ex situ conservation, research and education programs for Horn of Africa wildlife for decades.
Why is biodiversity decreasing in the Horn of Africa?
Uncontrolled hunting, cutting and burning areas for grazing and infrastructure development of new roads and airports, and a lack of governance pose a threat to this biodiversity hotspot.
Why is the Horn of Africa important?
The Horn of Africa is blessed with abundant natural and human resources but with insufficient infrastructure to produce and distribute. Hydropower and hydrocarbons are to the Horn of Africa what “coal and steel” were once to the integration of a war-ravaged Europe.
What human activity is contributing to the biodiversity loss in the Horn of Africa?
Both mining and commercial farming entail the clearing of land, contributing to deforestation, decline in vegetation cover, soil erosion, desiccation and desertification.
What happens at the Horn of Africa?
Prolonged and frequent droughts across the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, are threatening the lives of millions of children. Violent storms are leading to immediate, life-threatening dangers for children, including malnutrition and higher risk of infectious and diarrheal diseases.
Why is the Horn of Africa a hotspot?
The Horn of Africa is one of only two entirely arid hotspots. … It is one of the most degraded of the world’s hotspots, due to overgrazing and charcoal harvesting. Endemic mammals include the Hamadryas baboon, Speke’s pectinator and 3 species of antelope.
What animals live in the Horn of Africa?
Among threatened species of the region, there are several antelopes such as the beira, the dibatag, the silver dikdik and the Speke’s gazelle. Other remarkable species include the Somali wild ass, the desert warthog, the hamadryas baboon, the Somali pygmy gerbil, the ammodile, and the Speke’s pectinator.
How dangerous is the Horn of Africa?
Horn of Africa 2nd to Strait of Malacca as World’s Most Dangerous Place for Ships. In the past year, pirates have attacked more than 35 vessels off the coast of Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, making the region second only to the Strait of Malacca in Asia as the world’s most dangerous place for ships.
How did the Horn of Africa get its name?
The Horn of Africa takes its name from the horn-shaped land formation that forms the easternmost point of the African continent, projecting into the Indian Ocean south of the Arabian Peninsula.
How old are Somalis?
All evidence points to the fact that somalis are an ancient people who have inhabited the region known as the somali peninsula for atleast 9000 years and that Somali unlike ethiosemitic languages is a very old language, even older than proto-semetic (as shown in the last two dates).
Where the Horn of Africa is?
Horn of Africa, region of eastern Africa. It is the easternmost extension of African land and for the purposes of this article is defined as the region that is home to the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, whose cultures have been linked throughout their long history.
How do we stop biodiversity loss?
Participating in Biodiversity Conservation. Identify locations of critical wildlife habitat for species at risk and the threats to these areas. Where possible, eliminate threats and maintain natural areas. Leave critical wildlife habitat undisturbed, especially nesting and denning sites.
Does Africa have a lot of biodiversity?
Africa is immensely rich in biodiversity. Its living organisms comprise around a quarter of global biodiversity and it supports the earth’s largest intact assemblages of large mammals, which roam freely in many countries.
Is Africa breaking apart?
The African continent is slowly separating into several large and small tectonic blocks along the diverging East African Rift System, continuing to Madagascar — the long island just off the coast of Southeast Africa — that itself will also break apart into smaller islands.
What 4 countries make up the Horn of Africa?
- Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya)
- Sudan and Eritrea.
- South Sudan.
Which is the largest country in the Horn of Africa?
1) Algeria (2,381,741 square kilometers)
Algeria is the largest nation in Africa by area.