Territory, Economy, and Demographic Growth in São Tomé and Príncipe: Anthropogenic Changes in Environment

Abstract Nearly five centuries of human presence on the islands of the Gulf of Guinea have considerably marked the landscape with the replacement of natural habitats by roças (plantations) and other settlements, the introduction of numerous exotic plant and animal species, and the exploitation of resources needed for urban construction and daily life of the growing human population. Exponential population growth and, consequently, the urban sprawl are resulting in deforestation, illegal beach sand mining, exhaustion of natural resources, expansion of non-endemic species, and extermination of the endemic ones, thus causing immense resource exploitation and rapid environmental deterioration. The absence of an effective territorial planning amplifies the island’s vulnerability and increases the fragility of the ecosystems, posing clear threats to the islands’ unique biodiversity.