News
BIOTA – Biodiversity in West Africa at a glance
Three 600-page volumes full of maps and facts about the diversity of fauna and flora in Benin, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire – that is the fruit of ten years of work by around 150 German scientists and African partners involved in the “Biodiversity Monitoring Transect Analysis“ (BIOTA) project. They provide scientific data and arguments local conservationists and policy makers should consider.
One of the surprising newly revealed facts, for instance, is that Burkina Faso is home to nearly 2,000 plant species. Scientists previously thought the figure was around 1,200. The research findings show that land use and climate change are impacting the diversity of biological species. (ph)