Megaherbivores and Mega-Infrastructure in East Africa

Abstract

Massive infrastructure development impacts ecologically important, culturally iconic, and economically vital populations of megaherbivores in East Africa. The seven member countries of the East African Community (EAC) have multiple hypercomplex road, rail, and port projects planned that will cross essential habitats for elephant, giraffe, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus populations, all but one of which range from threatened to critically endangered in global extinction risk status. Within the EAC, concerns have been raised about effective and efficient development mitigation and shared biodiversity conservation governance. Scalable solutions have been demonstrated in some EAC countries, but there is a vital need for regional policy. The acute challenge of megaherbivore conservation amid mega-infrastructure development in East Africa can best be addressed with the fulfillment of an EAC wildlife sector coordinating unit.