The impacts of artificial light at night in Africa: Prospects for a research agenda

Artificial light at night (ALAN) has increasingly been recognised as one of the world's most pernicious global change drivers that can negatively impact both human and environmental health. However, when compared to work elsewhere, the dear th of research into the mapping, expansion trajectorie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:South African Journal of Science 2023-03, Vol.119 (3-4), p.29-35
Main Authors: Coetzee, Bernard W.T., Smit, Izak P.J., Ackermann, Simone, Gaston, Kevin J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ALAN
Biodiversity conservation
Environmental health
Environmental impact
Light pollution
Light sources
Night
nocturnal ecology
Rural areas
Satellites
Sustainable development
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Summary:Artificial light at night (ALAN) has increasingly been recognised as one of the world's most pernicious global change drivers that can negatively impact both human and environmental health. However, when compared to work elsewhere, the dear th of research into the mapping, expansion trajectories and consequences of ALAN in Africa is a surprising oversight by its research community. Here, we outline the scope of ALAN research and elucidate key areas in which the African research community could usefully accelerate work in this field. These areas par ticularly relate to how African conditions present underappreciated caveats to the quantification of ALAN, that the continent experiences unique challenges associated with ALAN, and that these also pose scientific oppor tunities to understanding its health and environmental impacts. As Africa is still relatively free from the high levels of ALAN found elsewhere, exciting possibilities exist to shape the continent's developmental trajectories to mitigate ALAN impacts and help ensure the prosperity of its people and environment.Significance: We show that the African research community can usefully accelerate work into understudied aspects of ALAN, which demonstrably impacts human and environmental health. Africa presents a unique, and in places challenging, research environment to advance understanding of this global change driver.
ISSN:0038-2353
1996-7489
DOI:10.17159/sajs.2023/13988