Saving Our Land: The Basics Of Biodiversity

South Africa’s rich biodiversity is not only fascinating and beautiful; it provides a wide range of products and services for commercial and subsistence purposes.

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After Brazil and Indonesia, South Africa is the most biologically diverse country in the world, and its spectacular array of fauna and flora is found in terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems. Sadly, however, this biodiversity is increasingly threatened by human activities.

The National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act defines biodiversity as the variability within and between all living organisms, from the genetic to ecosystem level. It also includes variety within species, between species and of ecosystems.

Loss and degradation of ecosystems or habitats amount to losses of biodiversity.

South Africa is home to 7,5% of the planet’s plant species, 5,8% of its mammal species, 8% of birds, 4,6% of reptiles and 5,5% of insects. Three biodiversity hotspots are globally recognised: the Cape Floristic Region, the Succulent Karoo (shared with Namibia), and the Maputaland-Pondoland Albany hotspot (shared with Mozambique and Swaziland).

At about 90 000km², the Cape Floristic Region is the smallest. It is also the only floral kingdom to occur exclusively within the geographical boundaries of one country. Its extraordinary plant diversity helps rank South Africa as the country with the fifth-highest number of plant species in the world.

PROTECTING THE REMAINING ECOSYSTEMS