As landscape-scale conservation models grow in prominence, assessments of how wildlife utilise multiple-use landscapes are required to inform effective conservation and management planning. Such efforts should incorporate multi-species perspectives to maximise value for conservation, and should account for scale to accurately capture species-environment relationships. We show that the random forest machine learning algorithm can be used to model large-scale sign-based data in a multi-scale framework. We used this method to investigate scale-dependent habitat associations for 16 mammal species of high conservation importance across the southern Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area in Botswana and Zimbabwe. Our findings revealed substantial variation in factors shaping habitat use across species, and illustrate that different species often have divergent responses to the same environmental and anthropogenic factors, and differ in the scales at which they respond to them. For all variables across all species, scale optimisation most often selected our largest scale. Precipitation, soil nutrients, and vegetation appeared to be the most important factors determining mammal distributions, likely through their associations with food resources for herbivores and, in turn, prey availability for carnivores. Anthropogenic pressures also had an important influence, with many species selecting against areas with high cattle density. The variety of relationships with human density indicated that species vary in their tolerance of humans. We found a consistent positive relationship with areas under high protection, and negative relationship with unprotected and less-strictly protected areas. Policy implications. Through a novel application of random forest modelling to spoor data from 16 mammal species, this study highlights the importance of adopting a multi-scale, multi-species approach for decision-making processes that depend on understanding wildlife distributions and habitat associations, such as protected area and corridor prioritisation. The findings identify changing rainfall patterns and increasing livestock numbers as emerging trends that may impact wildlife distributions, both within sub-Saharan Africa and on a global scale. Wildlife management authorities should use modelling exercises and adaptive management to ensure that protected area networks remain fit for purpose under anticipated changes in rainfall under climate change, and explore initiatives that promote coexistence of wildlife and livestock.

Assessing the distribution and persistence of species across their range is a crucial component of wildlife conservation. It demands data at adequate spatial scales and over extended periods of time, which may only be obtained through collaborative efforts, and the development of methods that integrate heterogeneous datasets. We aimed to combine existing data on large carnivores to evaluate population dynamics and improve knowledge on their distribution nationwide.

Africa's Protected Area (PA) estate includes some of the world's most iconic wildlife and wildlands and preserves ecosystem services upon which people depend. However, Africa's PAs are facing a growing array of threats resulting in significant degradation, factors compounded by chronic funding shortages. In this opinion piece, drawing from the available literature and collective experience of the author group, we look at the potential for collaborative management partnerships (CMPs) between state wildlife agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to attract investment and technical capacity to improve PA performance. The three main CMP models—financial and technical support, co-management, and delegated management—yield median funding that is 1.5, 2.6 and 14.6 times greater than baseline state budgets for PA management. However, several factors limit the scaling of CMPs in Africa. Significant barriers include concerns from African governments, such as reluctance to engage in co-management and delegated CMPs due to perceptions that such partnerships may represent an admission of failure, result in a loss of revenues for government, or undermine sovereignty. There are also constraints associated with NGOs and donors that limit scaling of CMPs. We discuss how these issues might be addressed and propose a reframing of the discourse around CMPs. Specifically, we recommend that governments view CMPs as strategic, proactive tools that will enable them to unlock funding, investment and expertise for conservation and make recommendations to attract such investment. Preliminary evidence and the experience of the author group suggests that expanding CMPs for PAs could; improve PA management; share the costs of protecting Africa's PAs with the global community; build local capacity; help protect the ecosystem services upon which Africa's economies depend; stimulate rural development; and benefit local communities.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 illness are driving a global crisis. Governments have responded by restricting human movement, which has reduced economic activity. These changes may benefit biodiversity conservation in some ways, but in Africa, we contend that the net conservation impacts of COVID-19 will be strongly negative. Here, we describe how the crisis creates a perfect storm of reduced funding, restrictions on the operations of conservation agencies, and elevated human threats to nature. We identify the immediate steps necessary to address these challenges and support ongoing conservation efforts. We then highlight systemic flaws in contemporary conservation and identify opportunities to restructure for greater resilience. Finally, we emphasize the critical importance of conserving habitat and regulating unsafe wildlife trade practices to reduce the risk of future pandemics.

Transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) have the potential to provide havens for large carnivores while preserving connectivity across wider mixed-use landscapes. However, information on the status of species in such landscapes is lacking, despite being a prerequisite for effective conservation planning. We contribute information to this gap for leopard (Panthera pardus) in Africa, where the species is facing severe range contractions, using data from transect surveys of a 30,000km(2) area across Botswana and Zimbabwe in the Kavango-Zambezi(KAZA) TFCA. We used occupancy models to assess how biotic, anthropogenic, and management variables influence leopard habitat use, and N-mixture models to identify variables influencing the species' relative abundance. Leopard were detected in 184 out of 413 sampling units of 64km(2); accounting for imperfect detection resulted in mean detection probability <(<(p)over cap>)over bar> = 0.24 (SD = 0.06) and mean probability of site use <(<(psi)over cap>)over bar> = 0.89 (SD = 0.20). Habitat use was positively influenced by prey availability and high protection. Relative abundance was best predicted by trophy hunting, which had a negative influence, while abundance was positively associated with high protection and availability of steenbok. Our findings suggest that securing prey populations should be a priority in conservation planning for leopard in Africa, and underline the necessity of preserving highly-protected areas within mixed-use landscapes as strongholds for large carnivores. Our findings also support calls for better assessment of leopard population density in trophy hunting areas, and illustrate the value of N-mixture models to identify factors influencing relative abundance of large carnivores.

Significance Protected areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of conservation yet face funding inadequacies that undermine their effectiveness. Using the conservation needs of lions as a proxy for those of wildlife more generally, we compiled a dataset of funding in Africa’s PAs with lions and estimated a minimum target for conserving the species and managing PAs effectively. PAs with lions require $1.2 to $2.4 billion or $1,000 to $2,000/km 2 annually, yet receive just $381 million or $200/km 2 (median) annually. Nearly all PAs with lions are inadequately funded; deficits total $0.9 to $2.1 billion. Governments and donors must urgently and significantly invest in PAs to prevent further declines of lions and other wildlife and to capture the economic, social, and environmental benefits that healthy PAs can confer.

The fencing of protected areas (PAs) is highly controversial, and much remains unknown about the associated financial, ecological, and social impacts. We surveyed experts on 63 fenced and 121 unfenced PAs across 23 African countries to assess the advantages and drawbacks of fencing. Where fences exist, they are largely supported and widely viewed as effective at demarcating PA boundaries and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts. However, most fences were insufficiently funded, which limited their ability to contain conflict-prone species like elephants and lions. Fences were also frequently vandalised and caused numerous conflicts with local communities. We documented for the first time the distribution of and support for fencing in PAs across Africa. While fencing is largely limited to Southern Africa and East Africa, support for fencing is greatest in West Africa and is associated with high human and livestock densities, and high threats from bushmeat harvesting, livestock encroachment, and logging.

The cheetah has experienced a dramatic decline in its distribution, with an estimated adult and adolescent population of 7100 individuals remaining in the wild. Southern and eastern Africa have the largest populations, whereas western, central, and northern Africa have considerably smaller populations as a regional total. In Asia cheetahs are critically endangered, with small populations remaining only in Iran. For many countries, national and regional efforts to map the distribution of cheetahs have identified resident populations and highlighted knowledge gaps in areas that require surveying. Most (67%) cheetahs are found outside protected areas, suggesting that unprotected private and public lands need increased attention when devising cheetah conservation strategies. Conservation of the world’s remaining cheetah populations will require securing the cheetah’s habitat and prey base, reducing the causes of human-mediated mortality, while identifying and securing corridors to connect fragmented populations and enable recolonization. Transfrontier cooperation will be critical for reaching these goals.

Conservation of large carnivores, such as the African lion, requires preservation of extensive core habitat areas, linkages between them, and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict. However, there are few rigorous examples of efforts that prioritized conservation actions for all three of these critical components. We used an empirically optimized resistance surface to calculate resistant kernel and factorial least cost path predictions of population connectivity and conflict risk for lions across the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) and surrounding landscape. We mapped and ranked the relative importance of (1) lion dispersal areas outside National Parks, (2) corridors between the key areas, and (3) areas of highest human-lion conflict risk. Spatial prioritization of conservation actions is critical given extensive land use redesignations that are reducing the extent and increasing the fragmentation of lion populations. While our example focuses on lions in southern Africa, it provides a general approach for rigorous, empirically based comprehensive conservation planning based on spatial prioritization.

Using surveys of experts associated with 186 sites across 24 countries, we assessed the effectiveness of African protected areas (PAs) at conserving lions and their prey, identified factors that influence conservation effectiveness, and identified patterns in the severity of various threats. Less than one third of sampled PAs conserve lions at ≥50% of their estimated carrying capacity (K), and less than half conserve lion prey species at ≥50% of K. Given adequate management, PAs could theoretically support up to 4× the total extant population of wild African lions (~83,000), providing a measurable benchmark for future conservation efforts. The performance of PAs shows marked geographic variation, and in several countries there is a need for a significant elevation in conservation effort. Bushmeat poaching was identified as the most serious threat to both lions and to wildlife in general. The severity of threats to wildlife in PAs and the performance of prey populations were best predicted by geographic-socioeconomic variables related to the size of PAs, whether people were settled within PAs, human/livestock densities in neighbouring areas and national economic indicators. However, conservation outcomes for lions were best explained by management variables. PAs tended to be more effective for conserving lions and/or their prey where management budgets were higher, where photographic tourism was the primary land use, and, for prey, where fencing was present. Lions and prey fared less well relative to their estimated potential carrying capacities in poorer countries, where people were settled within PAs and where PAs were used for neither photographic tourism nor trophy hunting.

ABSTRACT Vegetable quality can be influenced by various factors including preharvest conditions and stage of maturity. Consumers are increasingly demanding for food with acceptable internal quality attributes like vitamins and mineral composition, in addition to sensory properties like appearance, texture, taste and aroma. The purpose of this study was to examine the mineral content of two traditional leafy vegetables in Botswana, namely Momordica balsamina and Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis, at different stages of maturity. Both vegetables exhibited different variation patterns in their leaf mineral contents with advancing age and the effect of maturity stage was significant (P < 0.05). Although M. balsamina and V. unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis could be integrated into a food‐based strategy to alleviate micronutrient malnutrition, the recommended harvesting stages would be dictated by the specific mineral deficiency being addressed.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe research findings are relevant in communities where home gardens and wild vegetable gathering are promoted as strategies to increase the intake of micronutrient‐rich foods. Practical uses are in the formulation of guidelines toward the optimal harvesting times for different vegetables depending on specific mineral nutrient deficiencies being addressed.

Proximate and mineral analyses were conducted on the leaves of Momordica balsamina L., an under- utilized wild vegetable in Botswana. The protein, fibre, fat and ash contents were 288, 37, 54 and 127 g/ kg, respectively. Potassium was the most abundant mineral at 27.05 g/ kg, followed by magnesium ( 3.82 g/ kg), phosphorus ( 3.24 g/ kg), calcium ( 2.22 g/ kg) and sodium ( 0.06 g/ kg). Other minerals were zinc ( 0.39 g/ kg), manganese ( 0.15 g/ kg) and iron ( 0.14 g/ kg). Compared with cabbage, lettuce and spinach, this wild vegetable contained more protein and fat, while the fibre content was less. Among the minerals analysed, the leaves of M. balsamina had higher values than those reported for the exotic vegetables, except for sodium. The wild vegetable could be promoted as a protein supplement for cereal- based diets in poor rural communities, while its high potassium content could be utilized for the management of hypertension and other cardiovascular conditions. The relatively high concentrations of zinc, iron and manganese could contribute towards combating the problem of micronutrient deficiencies.

Vegetables are considered to be the most affordable and sustainable sources of several micronutrients that are essential for physical and mental development, immune system functioning, and various metabolic processes in humans. However, their effectiveness as dietary sources of minerals is influenced by mineral-mineral interactions that may either enhance or reduce the absorption of certain micronutrients in the body. The awareness of such interactions, therefore, is useful when selecting vegetables that could help meet specific dietary criteria for improving micronutrient status. The purpose of this study was to investigate the suitability of Cucumis myriocarpus and Pergularia daemia as sources of mineral nutrients based on their mineral ratios for calcium, iron, potassium, and phosphorus. The Ca/Fe, Ca/K, Ca/Mg, and Ca/Zn ratios were 4.9, 0.9, 2.1, and 9.4, respectively, in C. myriocarpus. For P. daemia the same ratios were 1.7, 0.3, 1.6, and 9.7, respectively. A negative interaction was predicted between calcium and potassium, while the other calcium ratios were considered to be appropriate. The Fe/Zn ratio was adequate for C. myriocarpus (1.9) but excessive for P. daemia (5.6), while the K/Na ratio was good in both vegetables at 39.5 and 12.8, respectively. The P/Ca ratio was 0.2 in C. myriocarpus and 0.3 in P. daemia. Both wild vegetables could be promoted as natural sources for the minerals analyzed, but some adjustment of the P/Ca and Ca/K ratios would be required. Furthermore, the selection of P. daemia for either iron or zinc supplementation is not recommended because of the high Fe/Zn ratio.

Micronutrient deficiency is a universal problem, which presently affects over two billion people worldwide, resulting in poor health, low worker productivity, high rates of mortality and morbidity. Deficiency in micronutrients has led to increased rates of chronic diseases and permanent impairment of cognitive abilities in infants born to micronutrient deficient mothers. Wild vegetables have been the mainstay of human diets for centuries, providing millions of consumers with important micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals needed to maintain health and promote immunity against infections. Compared to conventional cultivated species, wild vegetables are hardy, require less care, and are a rich source of micronutrients. Hence, they could make an important contribution to combating micronutrient malnutrition as well as providing food security. Unfortunately, wild vegetables are currently underutilized, and have been neglected by researchers and policy makers. Their promotion and integration into human diets could assist in their protracted use and consequent conservation. However, the chemical, nutritional and toxicological properties of especially local wild vegetables, the bioavailability of micronutrients present in these, and their modification by various processing techniques still need to be properly established and documented before their use as an alternative dietary source can be advocated. Such information would be of fundamental importance in addressing dietary deficiencies in impoverished African rural communities.

A survey of plants used as wild vegetables was conducted in four districts of Botswana in August and September 2005. The objective was to determine which wild plants were used as vegetables in the study area, and to document their cooking and preservation methods. Fourteen species representing seven families were mentioned as wild vegetables. In addition, six species from four families had other uses in traditional medicine. The implications of the documented processing methods on the retention of nutrients in the vegetables are discussed.

Globalization results in the exclusion and marginalization of diverse categories of stakeholders at the local level in developing countries, while decentralization leads to integration and participation of some of these stakeholders. In this evolving process, increasingly facilitated by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the role of language and literacy, and their relationship with culture, have been given scant attention. ICTs facilitate language marginalization and homogenization, while it is an open question whether they contribute to language growth and survival. Within the context of development cooperation and natural resource management, the Community-Based Natural Resource Management Network (CBNRM Net), which serves the global CBNRM community of practice, uses ICTs to communicate with its global membership. CBNRM Net is concerned with how globalization and decentralization is influencing traditional and modern CBNRM practices. This includes how the present massive use of ICTs to facilitate communication, relying largely on English, is affecting literacy and language in the area of traditional knowledge on CBNRM. The paper presents a framework for analyzing use of language, and impacts on culture, in online communication and networking.

Globalization results in the exclusion and marginalization of diverse categories of stakeholders at the local level in developing countries, while decentralization leads to integration and participation of some of these stakeholders. In this evolving process, increasingly facilitated by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the role of language and literacy, and their relationship with culture, have been given scant attention. ICTs facilitate language marginalization and homogenization, while it is an open question whether they contribute to language growth and survival. Within the context of development cooperation and natural resource management, the Community-Based Natural Resource Management Network (CBNRM Net), which serves the global CBNRM community of practice, uses ICTs to communicate with its global membership. CBNRM Net is concerned with how globalization and decentralization is influencing traditional and modern CBNRM practices. This includes how the present massive use of ICTs to facilitate communication, relying largely on English, is affecting literacy and language in the area of traditional knowledge on CBNRM. The paper presents a framework for analyzing use of language, and impacts on culture, in online communication and networking.