Mapping land cover dynamics with Copernicus

Sub-Saharan Africa has known unprecedented land cover and land use changes over the past decades, affecting species abundance and distribution and altering ecosystem productivity (Sala, 2000; Pfeifer et al., 2012). The main drivers of these changes are both human and natural, including a high rate of population growth, economic development and globalization on one side and hazards such as drought and climate change on the other (Brink and Eva, 2009). In this context, protected areas (PAs) are vital for conserving natural habitats and their species; moreover, they are critical for meeting global conservation targets defined under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals.