Devolutionary Biology

Burnt hillsides and makeshift huts overlook Lake Kivu at Goma, in eastern DRC.

In my previous travels, I have offered separate observations on both the turmoil in eastern DR Congo and the ecosystem collapse threatening Lake Victoria.

Delphine Schrank's brief report, "As Go the Hippos...", in the latest issue of The Atlantic highlights the intersection of these two phenomena beside another of Africa's Great Lakes. The resulting disaster, on the shores of Lac Edouard, is proving much greater than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately, the convergence of economic, environmental, political, and population pressures is likely to make such multi-faceted disasters even more common in coming decades.