Challenges and opportunities in understanding and utilisation of African insect diversity

Approximately 100 000 species of insects have been described from sub-Saharan Africa. Largely as a result of Africa’s colonial history, the region’s insect fauna is probably better known than that of other tropical regions, but information is often more difficult to locate. Few centres of expertise on insect diversity and systematics exist in tropical Africa, while most large insect collections are housed in South Africa, Europe and the United States. Recent surveys of in-country resources show that human resources are also thinly distributed in tropical Africa. Yet, there is urgent need for basic information on insect diversity for pest management related to plant, livestock and human health, as well as conservation and environmental management. Invasive (alien) species represent a newly recognised threat that cuts across traditional sectors. Recent work shows the potential of different approaches to these challenges, including compilation and synthesis of pre-existing data and research targeted at strategic needs. Information can also be applied in novel ways to promote ‘environmentally friendly’ income-generating schemes such as silk and honey production, ecotourism, butterfly farming and bioprospecting. The Global Taxonomy Initiative of the Convention on Biological Diversity provides an opportunity to expand these experiments to better meet the needs. 197