About the Author
Michele Thieme joined the World Wildlife Fund's Conservation Science Program in 1999 and works to conserve freshwater life in WWFs priority river and lake basins. Her current research centers on the role of protected areas in conserving freshwater ecosystems, and improving conservation planning in freshwater environments. She leads the Spatial Tools and Analysis Team and is an active member of the Impact Evaluation team.
Robin Abell is a senior freshwater conservation biologist at WWF. She specializes in broad-scale conservation planning to protect freshwater biodiversity.
Dr. Melanie L.J. Stiassny is Axelrod Research Curator at the Department of Ichthyology, American Museum of Natural History.
Paul Skelton is Managing Director Emeritus of the South African Institue for Aquatic Biodiversity.
Table of Contents
List of Special Essays
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Boxes
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Introduction
-The Evolution and Diversity of Africa's Freshwater
-Systems
-Threats
-Structure of the Book
Chapter 2. Approach
-Geographic Scope of the Study
-Ecoregions and Bioregions
-Freshwater Habitat Types
-Conceptual Foundations
-Elements of Analysis: Biological Distinctiveness and Conservation Status Indexes
-Integrating Biological Distinctiveness andConservation Status
Chapter 3. Biological Distinctiveness of African Ecoregions
-Africa and Madagascar's Fresh Waters: Teeming with Life
-Species Biological Values
-Combining Species Richness and Endemism: Preliminary Biological Distinctiveness
-Nonspecies Biological Values
-Synthesis of Biological Distinctiveness Data
-Conclusions
Chapter 4. Reversing the Flow: Conservation Status of Africa's
-Freshwater Ecoregions
-Snapshot Conservation Status
-Future Threat Assessment
-Final Conservation Status
Chapter 5. Setting Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation among Africa's Freshwater Ecoregions
-The Priority-Setting Matrix
-Integrating Biological Importance and Conservation Status Indexes: Where to Act First
-Priority Ecoregions
-Comparison with Other Priority-Setting
-Exercises
-Summary
Chapter 6. Africa's Freshwater Systems and Their Future
-Who's Watching the Water?
-Conservation Planning in Ecoregions and River Basins
-Visionary Work in Freshwater Ecoregions and River Basins
-Challenges to Freshwater Conservation and Sustainable Development in Africa and Madagascar
Appendices
A. Methods for Assessing the Biological Distinctiveness of Freshwater Ecoregions
B. Methods for Assessing the Conservation Status of Freshwater Ecoregions
C. Data on the Species Richness and Endemism of Ecoregions
D. Data on the Biological Distinctiveness, Conservation Status, and Priority Class of Ecoregions
E. Statistical Analyses of Biological Distinctiveness and Conservation Status Data
F. Ecoregion Descriptions
Glossary
Literature Cited
List of Authors
Index