There are many drivers that have not been considered in scenarios of future development pathways across Africa

Mostly, the scenarios paint general pictures of social-ecological trajectories for Africa, where changes in human well-being are not necessarily directly linked to changes in biodiversity or ecosystem services. - The links between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being are only partly explored in the scenarios assessed in this chapter. - There is also very little regional specificity when it comes to human well-being in the different scenario studies

A major knowledge gap in this arena, which needs to be addressed is the impact of sport hunting on the populations of various species of megafauna in Africa.

Research on nature’s contribution to humans on regulatory and non-material contribution is largely lacking in most parts of Africa

Africa has a significant amount of undocumented indigenous local knowledge that would enhance our understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem services status and trends (inconclusive).

Africa’s waters are known for the abundance of their fishery resources, with the six Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) ranking within the first four most productive LMEs in the world (inconclusive)

There are currently limited studies providing evidence as to how a change of ecosystem structure and services may impact human freedom, a research gap that requires prioritisation

This section thereby recognises the need for improved research to grant a better understanding of the impact of the alteration of the ecosystem on livelihood, health, and freedom, to better inform decision-making in the land-use planning, biodiversity and nature conservation and resource allocation for the attainment of total well-being for a man in the African region.

Existing studies on the valuation of biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people in Africa are few and limited in both geographical scope and the types of ecosystems covered.

Africa still does not know the full potential of biodiversity and of nature’s contributions to its economic and technological development, and it continues to lose a large part of these resources and knowledge