South Africa's Biome Diversity

The survival of a significant part of South Africa's remarkable biodiversity is, however, seriously threatened, where virtually every ecosystem has been modified by human activities.

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Biodiversity, once the preserve of conservation biologists and theorists, has recently been catapulted into the political and human rights arenas. Defined by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as 'the totality of genes, species and ecosystems in a region or in the world', its links with development are receiving increasing attention, particularly with the coming into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity in December last year. For the first time in history, nations of the world have agreed on the need for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. It is also the first time that the global relationship between environment and development has been put into legal practice, with environmental objectives being coupled to the need for economic development in developing countries.

In South Africa, these shifts in emphasis have important ramifications for the way we protect and use the wealth of diversity in the country, particularly in light of the pressing needs for poverty alleviation and rural development.

Those fortunate enough to traverse the southern tip of the African continent will encounter a land of extraordinary diversity - both in terms of its people and culture, and with regard to its physical and biological characteristics. Its geographical position, bounded on the east coast by the warm Agulhas Current, and by the cold Benguela Current on the west coast, results in a wide range of climatic conditions.

The region is characterized by marked topographic gradients, including the extensive plains and plateaux of the interior, the spectacular mountain landscapes of the Great Escarpment and Cape regions, and a narrow coastal plain. As a result of the mix of tropical and temperate climates and habitats, a remarkable richness of plant and animal species occurs in the region. Indeed, current estimates place the total number of species in South Africa somewhere between 250000 and 1000000.

The rich biological diversity of South Africa is reflected in the vast traditional knowledge of plant and animal uses developed over millenia, first by hunter-gatherers, and later by pastoralists and farmers. While much of this knowledge has been fractured by the massive social engineering characterizing recent South African history, the region's biological diversity provides many basic needs to the people of South Africa, and is one of the premier attractions of the local tourist industry.

The survival of a significant part of South Africa's remarkable biodiversity is, however, seriously threatened, where virtually every ecosystem has been modified by human activities. At present, at least 25 per cent of the land has been transformed - largely by cultivation, urban development, afforestation, mining, impoundments and alien plant invasions. Known extinctions since 1600 include some 30 plant, two bird, and two mammal species. Currently, at least 2300 plant, six amphibian, 27 reptile, 72 bird, and 42 mammal species are threatened. Major reasons for these declines include habitat destruction, through agriculture and urbanization, and, for the large terrestrial mammals, human hunting pressure.

Many of the adverse effects of human activities are manifesting themselves most strongly in the rivers, wetlands and estuaries of southern Africa. This is of critical concern given the scarcity of - and increased demand for - water in the region. The flow of almost every river system has been regulated by storage dams, or by structures associated with inter-basin transfer of water. Salinization, eutrophication, and pollution by heavy metals, mine dump effluents, pesticides, insecticides and herbicides have considerably reduced water quality. Catchment changes through afforestation, agriculture and human settlement have reduced natural runoff substantially, and invasive plants and animals jeopardize indigenous biota on a national scale. Degradation of catchments has resulted in the widespread deterioration of estuaries in South Africa: some 76 per cent and 72 per cent of estuaries in the Cape and Natal respectively are estimated by estuarine scientists to be degraded.

The effects of these changes on the biota have not been fully assessed, although there is evidence of biodiversity being reduced in badly polluted rivers, especially near cities. Local extinctions of fish species from many southern African river systems have occurred, and 50 fish species from South Africa and Namibia are considered threatened.

South Africa's coastline is one of the most populous parts of the country and is consequently subjected to considerable pressures for development and recreation. Industrial, domestic and oil pollution further contribute towards the degradation of the coastal zone, and over-exploitation of intertidal resources is a concern in parts of KwaZulu/Natal and the Eastern Cape. While there is as yet no evidence of any coastal species becoming rare or endangered in southern Africa, commercial utilization of pelagic marine populations off southern Africa has had a detrimental effect on their conservation status. Indeed, fisheries scientists estimate that of 23 resources currently exploited, all but two are fully or over-exploited.

Perhaps some of the more insidious impacts on biodiversity have resulted from South Africa's past apartheid and colonial policies. State control over natural resources can be traced back to the arrival of Dutch settlers at the Cape in 1652, when restrictions were placed on the right of free burghers to hunt, and a ban was imposed on the cutting of trees. In response to diminishing resources, legislation was effected in 1858 which restricted African access to free-ranging wildlife. Simultaneously, several game reserves were proclaimed, their main objective being to serve as state game-farming enterprises for hunting. Africans were no longer able to subsist from the land, and were consequently coerced into providing cheap labour for the mines.

The National Parks Act was promulgated in 1926, and as the presence of local communities in the reserves was seen to counter conservation objectives, several communities were forcibly removed from proclaimed reserves - a deed which has been repeated until recently. People were thus denied access to resources such as grazing and hunting grounds, medicinal and edible plants, and firewood and thatching grass - generally with little compensation. Through this alienation, traditional knowledge and cultural values associated with the natural environment were swiftly eroded. These trends were further exacerbated by the plethora of apartheid legislation which acted to remove some 3.5 million people from their land.

The disastrous ecological and social consequences of these upheavals have clearly had major implications in the use of biodiversity in South Africa, since indigenous plants and animals supply many basic needs to rural people and are an important source of income in impoverished areas. Thus, while there are examples of customary African practices which maintain or even enhance biotic diversity, where demand for resources exceeds supply, or where commercial exploitation of scarce, habitat specific, slow-growing species is involved, many customary conservation practices have broken down - reducing both biodiversity and land use options. This has been exacerbated by enforced high population densities in parts of the country, growing unemployment, and increased demands from urban areas for economically important resources.

Of particular concern are the present rates and techniques of harvesting plants used for medicinal compounds, dyes and fuelwood - in some instances leading to local extinctions of species. There is also evidence that over-exploitation of coastal resources is having an effect on the size, abundance and structure of intertidal communities. The greatest impact of this general downward trend is on the poorest sector of the community, and women in particular, as they walk further or pay more to obtain fuelwood, food, craft-work materials or medicinal plants. At present rates of harvesting, resource depletion will accelerate, affecting both rural self-sufficiency and the protection of biodiversity.

So, what is being done to stall this slippery path downhill? South Africa is often touted as having one of the most impressive networks of terrestrial protected areas in the world. Indeed, the Percy FitzPatrick Institute at the University of Cape Town, estimates that of South Africa's biodiversity, up to 74 per cent of plants, 92 per cent of amphibians, 92 per cent of reptiles, 97 per cent of birds, and 93 per cent of mammals are represented in existing protected areas. This is remarkable given that, in total, protected areas cover only 8.6 per cent of South Africa. Even more remarkable is the fact that this efficacy has not arisen through any preconceived design for maximizing the preservation of biodiversity. On the contrary, critics point to the generally small size of most reserves, and their spatial isolation from one another, thus minimizing movement and genetic exchange between reserves. With global climatic change, rapid extinctions could result as individual species or whole communities are displaced out of protected areas, on to ex-tremely transformed land.

A suite of completely different issues thwarts the effective protection of freshwater and marine biodiversity, and this is complicated by the dynamic nature of such systems. Past measures in South Africa have not recognized ecosystem water needs, often with disastrous consequences. In general, the upper catchments of many South African river systems have been conserved, but few protected areas have been established along the middle or lower reaches of rivers. The conservation status of South African wetlands is particularly poor and few measures protect these areas from the deterioration of their plant and animal life. Along the coast, several marine reserves have been proclaimed, but many of them are very small and the present system does not afford adequate protection to intertidal systems or to different ocean regimes.

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the effective protection of South Africa's biodiversity has been the fragmented, polarized, inefficient and often autocratic administrative and legislative structures created by apartheid. Although departments are presently being reshuffled and rationalized, no fewer than 17 government departments had a primary responsibility for nature conservation before the April election. A plethora of local authorities, municipalities, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, and private landowners are also involved in the conservation of biodiversity, as are various central government and parastatal departments.

Given the multiplicity of organizations, it is not surprising that divided re-sponsibilities, together with a duplication of effort, a profusion of laws, and a lack of co-ordination have been major factors hampering the protection of biodiversity in South Africa. Other factors reported by government bodies to frustrate the fulfilling of responsibilities include financial constraints, a lack of pro-active scientific input, and a shortage of expertise in the field of conservation biology. Critics point to the need to fundamentally change existing conservation structures, citing the dominance of such structures by white males with qualifications in the natural sciences. Although changes are slowly occurring, a top-down, eurocentric, technocratic approach has dominated conservation thinking and has undercut the role of local communities as natural resource managers.

Such deficiencies have resulted in a system where the protection of biodiversity has occurred more by default than by design, despite a genuine commitment by certain departments. To date, South Africa lacks a coherent policy and strategy for the conservation of its biological diversity. Not only is there no effective strategy in place, but most departments have not devised their own individual strategies. This situation is likely to be further complicated and stalled by the proposed reshuffling of provincial departments and, in some instances, the amalgamation of nature conservation with other more strategic departments such as agriculture. Recently, however, the government has affirmed its commitment to developing a national biodiversity plan, and has outlined a draft national policy and strategy for the conservation of South Africa's biodiversity. These initiatives are largely in response to South Africa signing the Convention on Biological Diversity, since the Convention commits countries to 'develop national strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity'.

The development of a comprehensive, collaborative biodiversity strategy and a national co-ordinating body is key to the effective management of South Africa's biotic resources. But the success and relevance of such a policy will, however, largely be determined by the commitment of the government to undertake a broad consultative process with resource users, managers and other interested and affected parties. The strategy will need to examine the present efficacy of protected areas for maximizing biodiversity in light of the effects of habitat fragmentation, land and water degradation and climatic change.

It is imperative that such a strategy be developed hand-in-glove with resource-use patterns and needs. This will require the active participation of local people in the establishment, management and monitoring of conservation areas, and the development of an effective interface between conservation biologists and resource users. For example, traditional knowledge and folk taxonomy would be invaluable in much-needed inventory work, and would additionally provide a source of employment for local people. Similarly, the traditional skills of trackers could play an important role in research and tourism and, in so doing, create employment and ensure the survival of such skills.

Additionally, the knowledge and perceptions of resource users could provide valuable insights into the scarcity of plants and animals. Where necessary, provision will need to be made for cheap, readily available ex situ alternatives such as nurseries and woodlots. Local support will clearly be crucial to the success of such programmes, and appropriate training and education programmes will thus need to be instituted.

The immediate task towards attainment of a comprehensive biodiversity strategy is thus to integrate rural development and conservation within an overall land-use policy, wherein both protected areas, and ecosystems and habitats outside of protected areas, are managed to ensure their conservation and sustainable use. This would facilitate the long overdue development of partnerships between conservation bodies and local communities and, ultimately, the protection of the country's remarkable biodiversity, for all.
Land, Water and Sea

A wealth of genes, species and ecosystems
Five major terrestrial biomes, or habitat types, are represented in southern Africa: fynbos, forest, karoo, grassland and savanna. The five biomes can in turn be subdivided into 70 veld types, each with its own particular species associations. In addition to many hundreds of species of ferns, mosses, lichens and fungi, some 20300 flowering plants, 80 per cent of which are endemic to a particular area, occur in the region. Indeed, when compared to equivalent-sized areas, South Africa has the richest flora in the world, including both temperate and tropical regions.

The Cape Floristic Region is of particular significance, and is recognized as one of the six floral kingdoms of the world. When compared to other regions, the diversity and uniqueness of the Cape Floristic Region is staggering. The flora of Table Mountain alone, for example, is richer than that of the whole of Tasmania, an area two thousand times as large; and that of the Cape Peninsula exceeds the total number of species of Great Britain. These facts account for the Cape Floristic Region being one of 18 'hot spots' of global conservation concern, and the highest ranking in terms of numbers of endemic species.

In addition to an extraordinarily varied plant life, a wealth of animal life exists in the region, both in numbers and variety. Invertebrate groups are estimated to contain tens of thousands of species, and totals of 84 amphibian, 286 reptile, 600 bird and 227 mammal species have indigenous breeding populations in southern Africa.

As a water-scarce country, South Africa has practically no freshwater lakes, although it does have a rich diversity of river and wetland types. Twelve main river types have been identified, and along each river a further seven zones may be found, each with distinct physical and hydrological characteristics and, generally, a distinct biota.

In contrast to river systems, South African wetlands have not been formally classified or inventoried, and few data exist on their distribution. Not surprisingly, a paucity of data has resulted in biotic diversity in wetland systems being very poorly understood.

Oceanographic conditions off and along the South African coastline provide an extremely favourable habitat for a wide variety of marine species. Four water masses - the Benguela current, the Agulhas current, the Angolan current, and oceanic water - make the region one of the most oceanographically heterogeneous in the world. The 2600 kilometre-long coastline comprises five major marine habitats: rocky shores, sandy beaches, kelp forests, estuaries, and open sea.

Along the coastline, species diversity is high, as are levels of endemism. In estuaries, protected conditions and an abundance of invertebrates support over 300 fish species, 81 of which are dependent on estuarine conditions for the completion of their life cycles. The rich feeding grounds of southern African estuaries further support 127 bird species, 90 of which are resident.

In the open seas, biotic components are diverse, ranging from micro-organisms to whales. Some 1000 micro-organism, 700 phytoplankton, 1000 zooplankton, 66 squid, 2150 fish, 38 marine mammal, and 83 seabird species are estimated to occur in the pelagic ecosystem. The 2150 marine fish species described represent 15 per cent of the total number of marine fish species in the world, while about 13 per cent of the species described are endemic to the region.
Reaping the benefits of biodiversity

Basic needs
The rich biological diversity of South Africa is reflected in the vast array of its uses amongst rural and urban people, as well as by various industrial concerns. Fuelwood, fencing and building materials account for the highest volume of plant material used, with fuelwood equalling 51 per cent of the domestic energy use in South Africa.

Over 100 wild plant foods are utilized, constituting an important dietary supplement to the starchy staple diet common to many communities, and a major buffer against drought, seasonal famine and unemployment. Some 700 plant species are additionally estimated to have a use in traditional medical preparations. In black rural communities, approximately 80 per cent of people rely on traditional medicine, and traditional healers thus fill an important gap in a much-neglected health care system.

Traditional medicine is also important in black urban areas: for example, some 80-85 per cent of Soweto residents are estimated to consult traditional practitioners.

In addition to utilizing a wide array of plant resources, rural communities harvest several indigenous animal species for food, traditional medicinal preparations, and income. Snakes and other reptiles are important remedies for some ailments, while along the coast, fish and intertidal species form an important part of the diet and income of poor communities.

Biotechnology
Biotechnology has produced the greatest economic bounties from biodiversity, and is a multi-billion dollar industry in several industrialized countries. Whilst the South African biotechnology industry is still in its infancy, it holds enormous potential for growth, and is the current focus of a number of initiatives. For example, there is tremendous scope for using the region's genetic diversity in developing high-yielding crop lines adapted to marginal, extreme environments. The development and cultivation of such crops would not only be more appropriate for local conditions, but could provide a valuable reservoir of unusual genes for use in breeding and improvement programmes, particularly in the face of climatic change. The low inputs required could hold particular benefits for poor, small-scale producers, many of whom farm in marginal areas.

Other areas of importance for biotechnology include medicines and perfumes. Some of our Pelargonium species, for example, are being developed as perfumes by international companies, who have used the traditional knowledge of local people to locate and identify species of commercial importance. Of concern is the lack of recognition of the value of such traditional knowledge and the need for the equitable distribution of benefits which presently accrue solely to wealthy foreign corporations.

Trade
A range of plants and animals is traded in various sectors of the South African economy - both for local and for lucrative foreign markets. As both a producer and a consumer of wildlife products, the country's well-developed market infrastructure places entrepreneurs in a good position to act as dealers and brokers in the international wildlife trade. Indeed, almost 100 countries trade in wildlife with South Africa.

The local horticultural industry, excluding cut flowers and exports, is valued at about R390 million a year and is a major labour employer. In addition to this thriving market, some R19 million worth of flowers are presently exported from South Africa, an amount which is estimated to be way below its actual potential. The aloe-bitters pharmaceutical trade similarly generates a substantial income, exporting 300 tonnes worth about R2.5 million in 1992, and employing over 200 people in the southern Cape as 'aloe tappers'.

In the informal sector, fuelwood derived from alien species not only generates income - which in Cape Town is estimated to be worth R27 million a year - but plays a useful role in eradicating invasive vegetation.

The fishing industry is one of the more lucrative beneficiaries of biodiversity, in 1988 catching 1.3 million metric tonnes, equalling an export value of approximately R367 million.

Other products important for subsistence and commercial use include essential oils extracted from aromatic plants; medicinal plants; honeybush tea; 'dakriet' harvested in estuaries for thatching; game meat; cat skins; and marula fruits harvested for processing into liqueurs and other products.

In addition to these legitimate enterprises, South Africa is also home to a booming illegal international wildlife trade. For example, South Africa has few restrictions on bird importation, and this, together with a large bird-keeping and breeding community, has until recently resulted in the country being an important market for endangered louries. Similarly, supposedly extinct orchid species have found their way to South African markets.

Recreation and tourism
In broader terms, South Africa's landscapes and biodiversity have enormous recreational and aesthetic value and attract several million tourists each year. In fact, this kind of non-consumptive use is probably the single greatest economic value of biodiversity in South Africa. In 1992, the total income generated by tourism in South Africa was R7 billion, R3.4 billion of which was foreign exchange. If one considers that 70 per cent of visitors to South Africa regard the natural environment and scenic beauty to have provided the most enjoyable aspect of their stay, then 'ecotourism' accounted for the generation of about R2.4 billion in foreign exchange in 1992. Added to this is the fact that many consider South Africa's tourism potential to be vastly untapped.

South Africa Reading

South Africa's Biotic Wealth
South Africa: Kruger National Park
Garden Route Activities
The Garden Route
Wild Frontier -Eastern Cape
The Wild Coast
Namaqualand
Namaqualand and more
Greater Addo National Park
Ndumo Game Reserve
HLUHLUWE-UMFOLOZI PARK
The Lowveld –Birding
ADDO ELEPHANTS
Drakensburg UNESCO World Heritage Site