Environmental problems in Cape Verde

Islands under attack

The wildlife of Cape Verde had no idea what a human looked like until 1460, when the Portuguese arrived on the island and made it theirs. Since then, depredation, destruction of habitats and the introduction of alien species have slowly thinned out the archipelago’s biodiversity.

Deforestation

Once covered by dry forests and scrub habitat, Cape Verde's landscape has been reduced in many parts to an agricultural environment. Fuelwood extraction, the harvesting of native plants for medicinal and traditional uses and the uncontrolled grazing of goats are the drivers of this radical change.

Only on mountain peaks and other (still) inaccessible areas is native vegetation holding on. These remnants are important, because they contain some of the few dry forest areas in Africa and its islands, and support a number of species found nowhere else (endemics).

Habitat loss has caused devastating impacts. More than 26% of the angiosperms, 40% of the bryophytes, 47% of the birds, 25% of the reptiles, 64% of the beetles, 57% of the arachnids, and 59% of the mollusks are classified as threatened.

In Cape Verde, where means of subsistence are few and precious, the population’s loss of natural resources is likely to make it poorer and could reach crisis level (economic and social).


Illegal and unsustainable wildlife exploitation

Marine turtles have been wiped out on almost all Cape Verdean islands, but they have thrived so far on Boa Vista where human predation and pressure is lower. Hunting turtles in Cape Verde dates back as far as the 15th century, when European explorers reported that leprosy was being treated locally by a diet of turtle meat and by rubbing the affected areas with turtle blood. Even today, unemployed villagers occasionally hunt turtles to feed their families.


Introduction of exotic species

Exotic species often out-compete native species, especially where they are particularly well adapted to their new home. Take feral species for example. In Cape Verde, breeding seabirds have been greatly reduced in numbers and are now restricted to small islands due to combined effects of habitat loss and predation from introduced animals (e.g., cats, rats, and green monkeys).


Infrastructure development

The coastline has been highly stressed by sand extraction, to the extent that on some islands, such as Santiago and Fogo, various beaches do not exist anymore. In addition to sand, rocks are also extracted for construction and ornamental decoration, while some areas of Cape Verde’s coastline are under growing pressure from building construction to draw more tourists. Among others, this poses threats to loggerhead marine turtle nesting beaches.


Overfishing and destructive fishing

Traditional and commercial fishers are competing for the same resources, and resorting to damaging practices to get their catch, including the use of explosives.