Loss of terrestrial biodiversity

Background

The global significance of terrestrial biodiversity loss emerged in the 1980s, as scientists documented accelerating species extinctions and habitat degradation across continents. Landmark reports, such as the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, highlighted the scale of decline and its ecological consequences. Subsequent assessments, including the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) and IPBES Global Assessment (2019), have deepened understanding of the crisis, revealing unprecedented rates of loss and its far-reaching impacts on ecosystems and human well-being.

Incidence

The loss of biodiversity in terrestrial areas of South Africa is considered by Government to be a matter of grave concern, requiring urgent action by diverse sectors at many different levels. There are seven major terrestrial biomes, or habitat types, in South Africa: forest, fynbos, grassland, Nama karoo, succulent karoo, savanna, and thicket. These biomes can in turn be divided into 68 vegetation types, which are communities which share common species, have similar vegetation structures, and share the same set of ecological processes. The degree to which each of these biomes is threatened varies, depending upon the fertility of the soil, the economic value derived from use of the area, human population pressures, and the extent to which the biome is conserved in protected areas.