Gavin W. Maneveldt
Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology,
University of the Western Cape
“We'll lose more species of plants and animals between 2000 and 2065 than
we've lost in the last 65 million years” - Paul Watson
S
outh Africa occupies a
unique geographical location. As a consequence of
this and of a host of resulting and other characteristics
(geology, microclimate, surrounding oceans, evolutionary history,
etc.), we have an astonishingly high
biodiversity. After Indonesia and
Brazil, South Africa is the third-most
biologically diverse country in the
world. Occupying less than 1 %
(1 214 470 km2) of the world’s total
terrestrial land area (148 940 000
km2), South Africa is home to an
astonishing array of organisms including:
10 % of the world’s plants;
5 % of the world’s reptiles;
8 % of the world’s birds;
6 % of the world’s mammals;
16 % of the known coastal marine species; and
an astonishing 33 % of the
world’s tortoise species.
South Africa is the only country in
the world that encompasses three
biodiversity hotspots (regions with
significant biodiversity that is under
severe threat from humans of which
Did you know?
Invasive alien plants...
Reduce available water: It is
estimated that in South Africa,
these plants use 3.3 billion cubic metres more water per
year than indigenous plants.
Replace valuable natural vegetation: Invasive alien plants
compete for water, light,
space and nutrients with indigenous plants. This upsets the
natural balance in ecosystems
and often leads to the disappearance of many faunal
species (such as insects, reptiles, birds and mammals) that
depend on the indigenous
plants. Overall, invasive alien
plants reduce South Africa's
rich biodiversity.
there are 34 across the planet). One
of these, the Cape Floristic Region
or Cape Floral Kingdom, falls entirely within our political borders and
also happens to be the smallest of
all the known plant kingdoms. The
other two are the Succulent Karoo,
which we share with Namibia, and
the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany,
which we share with Mozambique.
The Western Cape Province is
particularly special
The Western Cape occupies about
11 % (129 462 km2) of South Africa’s land area, but is home to an
even more astonishing assortment
of biodiversity. Possessing 5 (Albany
Thicket, Nama Karoo, Forest, Fynbos, Succulent Karoo) of the country’s nine vegetation types, the
province’s vast majority of plant
species are indigenous (13 003 or
96 %), with a very small number
(486 or 4 %) being naturalised