Africa Platform

Wildlife watching species richness index
Where are the best places to spot the most requested wildlife-watching species? This grid layer presents a richness index of top wildlife watching species/groups, including rhinos, elephants, lions, leopards, buffalos, giraffes, lowland and mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, sifakas, ringtails, aye-aye, mouse lemurs and colobus.

Data provider

EC-JRC
Suggested citation

Wildlife watching species richness index in Africa. Map elaborated by Capitani, C. (March 2021), based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Version 2019-1 (https://www.iucnredlist.org).
Related tool or portal

https://geonode-rris.biopama.org/layers/geonode:gridsafprim_50#/
Licence

Not Specified
Date or time period of observation

2021
Frequency of update

Not Updated
Geographic coverage

Africa
Spatial Resolution

0.5 degrees
Technical background

The number of occurring species/groups is weighted by specific scores of attractiveness and encounter easiness, and calculated over a 0.5 degrees-mesh grid. Species distribution data are derived from IUCN Red List species spatial data (September 2020). Area of occupancy is defined by high quality experts, but it is not accurately taking into account specific habitats suitability.
Cautions

This dataset has not been validated. Not representative of marine species.
Related SDGs and targets

GOAL 15: Life on land,
Related Topics

Economy, Tourism, Sustainable Growth & Jobs, Natural Resources, Biodiversity & Wildlife