Status of African authorship among conservation research output from sub-Saharan Africa: An African perspective

The effectiveness of science to address conservation issues is linked to the inclusivity and diversity of its practitioners, but scientists from biodiverse tropical countries remain underrepresented in the conservation science literature. To assess the status of sub-Saharan Africa-based authorship in conservation science between 2015 and 2021, we analyzed the affiliations of primary authors of research conducted in sub-Saharan Africa as published in 10 selected conservation journals representative of a range of conservation literature: from high-impact international journals to Africa-specific regional journals. Out of 1176 articles, we found that approximately one-third of the primary authors were based at a sub-Saharan African institution. African primary authors had a higher output in African than global conservation journals, which corresponded with relatively low overall impact factors and citations for studies led by African authors. African authors were significantly underrepresented in large, multicountry studies, accounting for only 6% of primary authors and 66% of these publications contained no African author. We discuss possible limitations and solutions for African participation and representation in the international conservation literature from the perspective of African conservation scientists.

Automated summary

To assess the representation of sub-Saharan African authors in conservation science literature, the affiliations of primary authors of research conducted in sub-Saharan Africa were analyzed. The study found that approximately one-third of the primary authors were based at a sub-Saharan African institution. African authors had a higher output in African journals, but with relatively low impact factors and citations.