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Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering

ISSN 2095-7505

ISSN 2095-977X(Online)

CN 10-1204/S

Postal Subscription Code 80-906

Front. Agr. Sci. Eng.    2020, Vol. 7 Issue (4) : 467-477    https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2020320
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Ecological security evaluation of Africa
Huihui WEI1, Wenjuan ZHANG2, Feng ZHANG1(), Guojun SUN1()
1. State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Institute of Arid Agroecology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
2. Institute of Qinghai Provincial Geographical Monitoring, Xining 810000, China
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Abstract

Africa, the second largest continent in the world, has achieved remarkable economic and political results through exploration and positive development. Ecological security comprehensively reflects the health and integrity of an ecosystem, and it is broadly defined as the security state of a complex artificial ecosystem composed of natural, economic and social factors. Ecological security determines the potential for sustainable development in Africa, especially with its rapidly developing economies. However, there is a lack of information on the ecological security state of the continent as a whole. In this study, we constructed an evaluation system based on a pressure-state-response model and evaluated the ecological security state of all 54 African countries. The results showed that, at the national level, the ecological security state of the countries in Africa differed, as did their spatial and temporal variations from 1995 to 2016. In general, African countries showed relatively good ecological security. The years 2007 and 2001 were the worst and best years, respectively, in terms of ecological security during the study period. At the regional level, North Africa and West Africa had the best and worst ecological security, respectively.

Keywords Africa      ecological security      evaluation system      PSR model     
Corresponding Author(s): Feng ZHANG,Guojun SUN   
Just Accepted Date: 06 January 2020   Online First Date: 24 February 2020    Issue Date: 06 November 2020
 Cite this article:   
Huihui WEI,Wenjuan ZHANG,Feng ZHANG, et al. Ecological security evaluation of Africa[J]. Front. Agr. Sci. Eng. , 2020, 7(4): 467-477.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/10.15302/J-FASE-2020320
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/Y2020/V7/I4/467
Fig.1  Ecological security evaluation system for Africa. The first column is the target layer; the second column is the project layer: pressure (P), state (S), and response (R); the third column is indicator layer, with 26 indicators. Based on the influence of indicator value, the results were divided into positive indicators and negative indicators. All the indicators of the pressure layer, CO2 emissions (metric tons), other greenhouse gas emissions (thousand metric tons) and population density in the state layer and the export value index and import value index in the response layer were negative, all others indicators were positive. The indicator, other greenhouse gas emissions, is consists of three gases: HFC (hydrofluorocarbons), PFC (perfluorocarbons), and SF6 (sulfur hexafluoride). GDP: gross domestic product; GNI: gross national income.
Level I II III IV V
C value 0–0.29 0.30–0.44 0.45–0.49 0.50–0.64 0.65–1.00
State Extremely unsafe Unsafe Critical safe Relatively safe Safe
Tab.1  Classification standard of ecological security
Fig.2  Variations in ecological security index in North Africa. C is the ecological security index, and the value reflects the state of ecological security, 0.0 and 1.0 indicated the worst and the best, respectively. Country code is abbreviated country name. LBY, Libya; SDN, Sudan; TUN, Tunisia; MAR, Morocco; ESH, Western Sahara; MRT, Mauritania; DZA, Algeria; EGY, Egypt.
Fig.3  Variations in ecological security index in West Africa. C is the ecological security index, and the value reflects the state of ecological security, 0.0 and 1.0 indicated the worst and the best, respectively. Country code is abbreviated country name. GNB, Guinea-Bissau; GMB, Gambia; SEN, Senegal; SLE, Sierra Leone; CPV, Cape Verde; TGO, Togo; BEN, Benin; GIN, Guinea; BFA, Burkina Faso; GHA, Ghana; LBR, Liberia; MLI, Mali; CIV, Cote d'Ivoire; NER, Niger; NGA, Nigeria.
Fig.4  Variations in ecological security index in East Africa. C is the ecological security index, and the value reflects the state of ecological security, 0.0 and 1.0 indicated the worst and the best, respectively. Country code is abbreviated country name. MDG, Madagascar; SSD, South Sudan; SOM, Somalia; MWI, Malawi; ZMB, Zambia; ERI, Eritrea; MOZ, Mozambique; SYC, Seychelles; DJI, Djibouti; RWA, Rwanda; UGA, Uganda; ETH, Ethiopia; TZA, Tanzania; KEN, Kenya; COM, Comoros; BDI, Burundi; MUS, Mauritius.
Fig.5  Variations in ecological security index in Central Africa. C is the ecological security index, and the value reflects the state of ecological security, 0.0 and 1.0 indicated the worst and the best, respectively. Country code is abbreviated country name. CAF, Central African Republic; COD, Democratic Republic of the Congo; COG, Republic of the Congo; CMR, Cameroon; GNQ, Equatorial Guinea; STP, Sao Tome and Principe; TCD, Chad; AGO, Angola; GAB, Gabon.
Fig.6  Variations in ecological security index in Southern Africa. C is the ecological security index, and the value reflects the state of ecological security, 0.0 and 1.0 indicated the worst and the best, respectively. Country code is abbreviated country name. ZWE, Zimbabwe; SWZ, Swaziland; BWA, Botswana; LSO, Lesotho; NAM, Namibia; ZAF, South Africa.
Fig.7  Variation of ecological security level in Africa from 1995 to 2016. Ecological security levels I–V represent the ecological security state. I, extremely unsafe state; II, unsafe state; III, critical safe state; IV, relatively safe state; V, safe state. N is the number of countries in each level.
Region Mean Max Min The number of countries at different levels Total number (I–V)
I II III IV V
North Africa 0.61 0.75 0.33 0 1 0 3 3 7
West Africa 0.54 0.80 0.23 2 1 1 8 3 15
East Africa 0.54 0.72 0.40 0 2 3 10 2 17
Central Africa 0.54 0.81 0.18 1 0 1 5 2 9
Southern Africa 0.60 0.84 0.50 0 0 0 5 1 6
Total number (I–V) 3 4 5 31 11 54
Tab.2  Level compare of ecological security in the regional
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