Zambezi River Basin

Change in the number of threatened species in Angola

Access to safe drinking water in Angola

Number of species 80

Number of species 80

Rural Urban

60

60

40

40

20

20

0

0

2008

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

Source: UNEP 2002, IUCN 2003, 2008, SADC and SARDC 2008

Source: AfDB 2010

Figure 4.7

Figure 4.8

Figure 4.7 shows the change in numbers of threatened species, indicating that this spiked at 71 in 2003 following the end of the war when some areas became more accessible and counts resumed. The 2008 figure shows a reduction in the number of threatened species to 63. Elephants have been reduced frommore than 12,000 individuals in Angola in 1981 to 820 in 2006 (SADC and SARDC 2008), largely due to ivory smuggling during the war years. Angola is yet to ratify CITES, an international treaty that restricts the trade in endangered species. Coastal drainage sites such as the Kunene and Kwanza rivers on the west coast of Angola contain species that occur only in that area. However development activities are not always compatible with conservation of this diversity and it is poorly represented in development process due to a lack of awareness and easily available information. Access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation by 2015 Large numbers of people were displaced during the war and moved to urban areas,

living in overcrowded slums, where the infrastructure did not exist or could not cope with their influx. The sharp increase in access to safe drinking water by 2004 (Figure 4.8) reflects the emergency assistance and humanitarian resources that flowed in following the peace agreement, but in some cases was not sustainable. Angola has witnessed improved access to sanitation in the same period. With the increasing oil revenue and more stability, safe drinking water and sanitation should become more accessible in both urban and rural areas. Improve the lives of slum dwellers by 2020 Following the peace agreement in 2002, rather than resettling back home where landmines were an ongoing threat, many people from the rural areas joined family members in the cities, thus expanding the already overcrowded slums. This trend is slowly being reversed through the development of amenities in rural areas as well as dedicated programmes to lift landmines and to help families to resettle in their home areas.

© Grigory Kubatyan/iStockphoto.com

Low income district of Luanda, Angola.

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