ONG welfare 2eme Article
The fungi kingdom is among the most diverse eukaryotic lineages on Earth with estimates of several million extant species. Fungi play critical roles in carbon and nutrient cycling of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and they are important pathogens and mutualists. More than 80% of plant species form symbioses with fungi and these symbioses have been crucial to the colonization of terrestrial ecosystems. Despite their impacts on primary ecosystem functions, assessments of fungal biodiversity estimate that only c. 10% of fungal species have been described worldwide. In the tropics, such as West Africa, the number of known species is very low, with Benin, for example, having an estimated diversity of more than 16,842 species, but only 450 known and described species. In West African countries other than Benin, the situation is even worse. This justifies the need to document this diversity before several species disappear from their habitats without being known.
