By Helen Briggs
A third of tropical African plants are on the path to extinction, according to a new assessment.
Much of western Africa, Ethiopia, and parts of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the hardest hit regions, standing to lose more than 40% of their richness of plants.
Species at risk include trees, shrubs, herbs and woody vines.
Threats include deforestation, population growth and climate change, the scientists said.
“Biodiversity provides countless benefits to humans and losing diversity jeopardizes our future,” said lead researcher Dr Thomas Couvreur of the French National Institute for Sustainable Development.
Loss of biodiversity will be particularly problematic in tropical Africa, “a region of incredible diversity but with major social and political challenges and expected rapid population growth over the next decades”, he added…
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