36 



population per physician for all the Ave countries is 9,920, in contrast to 470 in the United 

 States. The average infant mortality per 1,000 births is 100, while it is 11 in the United States. 

 The list of demonstrable statistics goes on and on. 



The statistics show that most African countries remain below the poverty line according to 

 the United Nations. In order to provide even the bare minimum for their people, many African 

 governments are exploiting their natural resources, in the form of logging, collection of non- 

 timber plant products, fishing and wildlife in an unsustainable manner in order to mitigate the 

 devastating human suffering. 



Like pouring salt into a wound, in terms of wildlife, human suffering has been 

 exacerbated by classic conservation methods which advocated strict protection; such an approach 

 results in denial of consumptive use by all, sometimes including subsistence use by rural 

 communities. 



3. ECOLOGICAL FUTURE: NATURAL BALANCE OR ENVIRONMENTAL 

 DISRUPTION 



Unlike many other regions of the world, the ecological future in Africa does not have to 

 be grim. In recent years conservationists within Africa and other parts of the world have joined 

 hands in making great progress that has brought about a sense of optimism. A shift in 

 conservation philosophy , and the realization that conservation and the development cannot be 

 separated has been the cause. Protection of the environment must be balanced with the 

 development needs of the people. For example, World Wildlife Fund, has been implementing a 

 successful program called Wildlands and Human Needs. The program has become so 

 successful that currently nearly all our efforts integrate human needs with natural resource 

 conservation. 



Examples include a joint project by World Wildlife Fund, the government of Namibia and 

 local communities in the Caprivi strip of Namibia. Here we have embarked in a project called 

 Living In a Finite Environment - LIFE, which seeks to balance economic development and 

 protection of the very rich but fragile environment in northern Namibia. The project is jointly 

 funded by the World Wildlife Fund and the United States government. Namibia is a dry country 

 and only the north has perennial rivers. Two thirds of Namibia's population live in the north, as 

 do most of its rich wildlife resources. Wildlife-based tourism is probably the only foreign 

 exchange earner for the region. The future of rural Namibia depends on the limited resources in 

 this area. Unsustainable management of the resources in this region would spell a disaster for an 

 extremely delicate ecosystem and the people who live there. 



The entire electric power supply in Malawi is generated from the Shire river, the only 

 outlet of Lake Malawi. If the Shire river stopped flowing today, Malawi would be in total 

 darkness. Lake Malawi's river catchments are of great importance to Malawi. The major 

 catchments of the lake are in Nyika National Park. 



World Wildlife Fund, in collaboration with the Central African Republic has established 

 the Dzanga Sangha Special Reserve for the sole purpose of ensuring that the BaAka people of the 

 region are able to continue to live in the area in a sustainable manner. Their livelihoods depend 



