Editor’s Note

The convergence of a series of happy coincidences led to this special issue on African conservation: our partnership with the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) at the start of the year; SCB’s 30th International Congress for Conservation Biology, which was slated to happen in Kigali, Rwanda in December 2021 (now taking place virtually); one of our Advisory Board members, Gladys KalemaZikusoka, being invited to deliver a plenary talk at the congress; and conversations with another AB member, Fred Nelson, who is at the forefront of enabling local African conservation organizations to become more effective and achieve greater impact.

This special issue on ‘African Conservation Today: New Trends, Perspectives and Opportunities’ gives us a bird’s-eye view of exciting developments in the region. From harnessing new opportunities within the wildlife economy to ‘shared landscapes’ that support people and biodiversity, there is a lot of work being pioneered here, as well as strong local leadership and emerging new voices to showcase. With that, I’m happy to hand over to Fred and Gladys— the Guest Editors—and their compendious introduction to the issue. It has been an absolute pleasure to see it all coming together.

As (almost) always, we end with a dose of Shockingon and their grand plans to re-afforest the planet.

— Devathi Parashuram