African development corridors intersect key protected areas

Unprecedented growth of Africa’s mining and agricultural sectors is fueling trans-national ‘development corridors’ linking producers with markets via road and rail. In a recent Africa-wide analysis, Laurance et al. (2015) find that only 5 of 33 African corridors are advisable given potential environmental and agricultural effects, noting frequent intersections between corridors and protected areas. Here we detail the spatial intersections between these 33 corridors and protected areas (PAs) in order to highlight a disproportionate impact on key PA designations and the relatively prominent threat of planned corridors compared to active corridors.JRC.D.6-Knowledge for Sustainable Development and Food Securit