This open access book about the sustainability of marine and terrestrial ecosystems in southern
Africa provides a synthesis of the research program Science Partnerships for the Adaptation to
Complex Earth System Processes (SPACES II 2018-2022). It addresses the scientific social and
economic issues related to climate change its potential impacts on the various ecosystems
adaptations and management interventions for enhancing systems resilience in Southern Africa.
It is written by numerous scientists from African states and Germany and summarizes the latest
research findings which are of great relevance for a better understanding of climate change
impacts adaptations and vulnerabilities as well as for developing management options and
policy options to reduce the associated risks. This is crucial considering that the projected
African population increase is exceptional. Furthermore climate change is assumed to hit
southern Africa extremely hard with a significant increase in extreme events and the frequency
of severe droughts heat waves and flooding. Southern Africa hosts a high variety of
ecosystems which belongs to important biodiversity hotspots for unique flora and fauna. The
surrounding oceans form in turn a bottle neck within the ocean's global thermohaline
circulation act as a still poorly understood carbon sink and source and play an important role
for fisheries as they are highly productive. Considering these important aspects the book is
an important interdisciplinary contribution to the scientific literature and will find a wide
readership. The book is aimed at students teachers and scientists in the fields of
terrestrial and marine ecology environmental nature and landscape planning agriculture
environmental and resource management biodiversity and nature conservation as well as
scientists and representatives in specialised authorities and associations nature
conservationists and policy makers of related disciplines.
