Africa’s Sustainability Challenges

In the light of the extreme poverty prevailing in sub-Saharan Africa, the region is unlikely to reach the target set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of halving poverty by the end of 2015. The level of vulnerability of its inhabitants to food insecurity has increased, due to the degradation of the natural environment Climate change poses a serious medium- and long-term threat to ecosystems in southern Africa. Increases in temperature will lead, not only to the greater frequency of extreme events, but also to the depletion of the region’s biodiversity and the shrinkage of its already scarce water resources. South Africa experiences many of the problems that beset the sub-region and sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. Such problems are exacerbated by the very large number of people living with HIV and AIDS in the region.