Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

Africa is home to almost one third of the world's terrestrial biodiversity and African governments have created more than 1200 national parks, wildlife reserves, and other protected areas, representing an area of more than 2 million square kilometers, equal to 9% of Africa's total land area.

The commitment of African countries to conservation has also been expressed through their ratification of a number of agreements including the African Convention for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
 
Nevertheless, one of the most important environmental challenges facing Africa today is the need to reconcile its development needs with sustainable management of its natural resources.

Throughout Africa, poverty remains one of the main causes and consequences of environmental degradation and resource depletion. Therefore, without significant improvement in the living standards and livelihoods of the poor, environmental policies and conservation programmes will achieve little success. This is further exacerbated by the negative effects of international trade policies and practices.
 
Africa's biodiversity is part of our common world heritage and the international community must urgently increase collaboration to protect it before large numbers of  species of flora and fauna become extinct and unique ecosystems irreversibly collapse.