Increasing conflicts and social insecurity are expected to accelerate biodiversity decline and escalate illegal wildlife killing. Sahara‐Sahel megafauna has experienced recent continuous decline due to unsustainable hunting pressure. Here, we provide the best available data on distribution and population trends of threatened, large vertebrates, to illustrate how escalating regional conflict (565% growth since 2011) is hastening population decline in areas that were formerly refugia for megafauna. Without conservation action, the unique and iconic biodiversity of Earth's largest desert will be forever lost. We recommend: (1) establishing strong commitments for change in global attitude toward nature; (2) engraining a culture of environmental responsibility among all stakeholders; (3) fostering environmental awareness to drive societal change; (4) reinforcing regional security and firearms control; and (5) implementing local research and wildlife monitoring schemes. We identify relevant international partners needed to tackle these challenges and to make strong policy change for biodiversity conservation and regional stability.

中文翻译：

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武装冲突和野生生物减少：撒哈拉-萨赫勒地区有效保护政策的挑战和建议

冲突和社会不安全感的加剧，预计将加速生物多样性的下降，并加剧野生动植物的非法杀戮。由于不可持续的狩猎压力，撒哈拉-萨赫勒大型动物最近经历了持续下降。在这里，我们提供了有关受威胁的大型脊椎动物的分布和种群趋势的最佳可用数据，以说明不断升级的区域冲突（自2011年以来增长565％）如何加剧了原先因大型动物而避难的地区的人口下降。如果不采取保护行动，地球最大沙漠的独特而标志性的生物多样性将永远消失。我们建议：（1）为改变全球对自然的态度树立坚定的承诺；（2）在所有利益相关者之间树立环境责任文化；（3）增强环境意识以推动社会变革；（四）加强区域安全和枪支管制；（5）实施地方研究和野生动植物监测计划。我们确定了应对这些挑战并为保护生物多样性和区域稳定作出重大政策变化所需的相关国际伙伴。