It's crucial to know the relationship between biodiversity and carbon storage to assess whether carbon-focused conservation will also protect the most biodiverse forests.
Local people at Tendaguru (Tanzania) excavation site in 1909 with Giraffatitan fossils.
Wikimedia Commons/Public domain
Africa has one of the world's richest fossil records, and evidence suggests that amateurs collected really important fossils long before professionals arrived on the scene.
A protest against President Joseph Kabila. The poster reads: “Kabila must leave without any conditions”.
Reuters/Francois Lenoir
Attempts to deepen democracy in Africa by limiting presidential terms to two have not entirely quashed a culture of entitlement to rule. Glimpses of it persist, much against citizens' wishes.
Greta Dargie and team fight their way through the forest.
Simon Lewis
A peaceful transition in the Gambia, taken together with hints of change in Angola and Zimbabwe, will portend hope that Africa’s democratic renewal is still alive.
Bonobos are separated from chimpanzees by the River Congo, but they share more genes than we thought.
Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters
Fifty five years and many inquiries later, the search continues for the truth about the cause of the plane crash in which the UN secretary general and 15 others were killed
The Congolese album ‘Nangadeef’ remains largely unexplored, despite its genius. As a rich repository of Afrofuturistic data, it deserves to be delved into by lovers of African art.
Papa Wemba’s coffin at a memorial in Kinshasa on May 3 2016.
EPA/Habibou Bangre
Papa Wemba was one of the most active ambassadors of Congolese urban music on the global stage. He did this by fusing international musical styles with authentic Congolese grooves.
Africa’s future looks bright – if it embraces its many innovators.
Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters
There are plenty of innovators, scientists and inventors in Africa doing remarkable work today. So why does the myth of Africa being devoid of scientific innovators persist?
Ivorians attend a memorial service for the late Congolese singer Papa Wemba in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 27 April 2016.
EPA/Legnan Koula
Popular African musician Papa Wemba, who died recently, has been close to the heartbeat of the continent's music. His influence will continue long after his death.
Utopianism is a neglected prism through which to view Africa. It is the space where the intricacies of decolonisation and independence can be properly comprehended.
A Nigerien voter makes his feelings felt.
EPA/Arne Gillis
Human population groups worldwide are highly homogeneous genetically. They are in fact 99.5% similar and their anatomical features vary in an uncorrelated fashion over the landscape.
A truck bearing the image of Uganda’s President Museveni.
Reuters/James Akena
Regular changes of government through free and fair elections that reflect the wishes of the majority of citizens are a critical component of democratisation. But how significant are polls in Africa?
The Chinese have helped build more than 300 dams in Africa, like this one on the Congo River.
Reuters
Senior Research Specialist in Democracy, Governance and Service Delivery at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State
