Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts: Launch of National Biodiversity Assessment 2025

Distinguished delegates, esteemed members of the SANBI Board, the Chief Executive Officer of SANBI, scientists, government officials, valued partners, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen — I extend my heartfelt greetings to everyone present, with all protocols duly acknowledged.

I would like to begin by conveying the apologies of the Honourable Minister Aucamp, who is unable to join us today, and who extends his best regards and full support for this important national milestone.

This is a moment of deep national pride.

Today we proudly launch the National Biodiversity Assessment 2025, a milestone that reflects years of dedication and collaboration – as the fourth and most comprehensive assessment of South Africa’s biodiversity. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to SANBI, to the more than 110 institutions, and to the 490 contributors whose expertise, passion, and commitment have made this achievement possible. Notably, marginalised groups made considerable contribution, with 52% women contributors, 38% from historically disadvantaged groups, and 12% young people - of whom 56% are from historically disadvantaged backgrounds and 61% are women. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is immensely proud of this work.

The NBA remains one of the most important ways in which SANBI fulfils its legislative mandate under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act — to report on the status of our country’s biodiversity and to provide the evidence that guides sound environmental governance.

Ladies and gentlemen, the NBA is not just a report. It is a reflection of who we are as a country that treasures its natural heritage; it is a mirror that shows both our achievements and our challenges; and it is a compass that guides the difficult choices we must make for a sustainable future.

This launch comes at a particularly symbolic moment in our democracy. For the first time, South Africa hosted the G20 Summit on African soil, placing our country and continent at the centre of global dialogue on climate, biodiversity, resilience, debt, and sustainable development.

The completion of the assessment during the year that G20 was hosted in Africa underscored South Africa’s continued leadership in global affairs. Our approach to biodiversity assessment has become a world-class model. It has been published internationally as a guide called ‘Mapping Biodiversity Priorities’ - which has been translated into French and even into an e-learning course. These resources are available to all 196 Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and are promoted as part of the SANBI-led Technical and Scientific Cooperation Support Centre for nine southern Africa countries under the CBD. This truly places South Africa at the forefront of global biodiversity monitoring.

Our work resonates strongly with outcomes of recent global milestones including Ramsar COP15 in Victoria Falls and CITES COP20 in Samarkand earlier this year. These multilateral environmental agreements rely on scientifically credible assessments like the NBA, which grounds international commitments in our national context for conservation and sustainable use.

The message is clear: South Africa is not only participating in global environmental diplomacy — we are shaping it.

Colleagues, the NBA is one of the most powerful national planning tools we have.

It informs decisions on land use, water security, protected area expansion, climate adaptation, fisheries management, agriculture, mining, infrastructure development, and restoration.

The NBA speaks directly to our national priorities of the 7th Administration by providing evidence-based knowledge that supports sustainable development, climate resilience, food and water security and economic growth. This helps government departments align biodiversity management with national priorities such as poverty reduction, job creation, and sustainable land use. Outputs from the NBA are included in national tools such as the National Spatial Development Framework, Natural Capital Accounting and the White Paper on Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa’s Biodiversity. Provincial and local authorities use the NBA outputs in environmental planning and decision support. Biodiversity contributes to cultural identity and recreational spaces. Protecting these resources supports the 7th Administration goals of nation-building and improving quality of life

The NBA also supports our international commitments, including the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals, amongst other multilateral environmental agreements. Most importantly, the NBA ensures that the decisions we make as a country are grounded in the best available science.

Although South Africa remains one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, the NBA 2025 confirms that our biodiversity is under increasing pressure.

Allow me to highlight some important findings:

Our vital aquatic ecosystems including those in our Strategic Water Source Areas - the mountain catchments, wetlands and rivers that only constitute 10% of our land area yet supply over 50% of our water - continue to face severe pressure from pollution, invasive species, and altered water flows. These challenges have been highlighted consistently over the past 20 years of the NBA. While important progress has been made, it is clear that much more urgent action is required to secure the ecological infrastructure that underpins our water security. Furthermore, improving the vital flow of freshwater into the sea is important for ecosystem services such as marine fisheries and coastal resilience.

Our terrestrial and marine ecosystems are vast – and pressures on these systems are concentrated in particular areas. This reinforces the importance of spatial prioritisation, ensuring that every rand we invest in restoration is directed where it has the greatest impact — particularly in degraded landscapes, wetlands, estuaries, and coastal ecosystems.

For our species, we can see that again our aquatic systems are at risk, as the most threatened species groups are freshwater and cartilaginous fishes. Several terrestrial groups, including reptiles, birds, mammals and plants, are showing concerning declines.

For the first time, the NBA reports significant declines among species in Namaqualand, driven by the intersection of escalating pressures from unsustainable land-use, illegal harvesting and climate change impacts.

On a positive note, some of our species are showing an improvement in their protection level status, reflecting the strong conservation foundation built through our protected areas and stewardship programmes.

The NBA introduces global genetic indicators for the first time. These reveal early signs of genetic erosion even in species that appear stable. South Africa is rapidly building scientific capacity in this field and will be among the first countries globally to report on genetic indicators in our 7th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity. However, we will need sustained investment to secure this essential part of our natural heritage.

The NBA provides us with the knowledge - now we must use it to act.

The Department commits to applying these findings to:

• Update national biodiversity planning tools and policy instruments
• Strengthen investment in ecological infrastructure such as wetlands, rivers, estuaries, dunes and kelp forests.
• Support large-scale restoration of degraded ecosystems.
• Improve management of Strategic Water Source Areas, including pollution prevention and freshwater recovery programmes.
• Guide protected area expansion and biodiversity stewardship, as well as explore other effective area-based conservation measures to diversify protection models and ensure participation.
• Integrate biodiversity into national, provincial and municipal spatial development frameworks.
• Enhance a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach through cross-sector collaboration with water, agriculture, fisheries, mining, energy, land reform, transport, human settlements, finance and other sectors.
• Strengthen South Africa’s national and international biodiversity reporting.

In addition, the new Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) project brings the National Biodiversity Assessment to life by turning science into policy and action that protects both nature and people. This project is funded by a grant of just over USD 40 million through the Green Climate Fund. The Eco-DRR focuses on restoring and safeguarding the ecological infrastructure that communities rely on every day - from wetlands that buffer floods, to riparian zones that reduce erosion, to coastal dunes that protect settlements from storms. Through locally led restoration, capacity building, and partnerships with municipalities, traditional authorities, and community organisations, the Eco-DRR project will strengthen resilience in places that the NBA has shown to be vulnerable and important in the long-term for human wellbeing. The Eco-DRR project demonstrates how restoring degraded ecosystems can reduce disaster risks, improve ecosystems, support livelihoods, and create jobs.

Together, the NBA and Eco-DRR highlight a very simple truth: when we heal ecosystems, we help people thrive, today and in the future.

Ladies and gentlemen, biodiversity is not just an environmental concern — it is an economic asset. It supports over 400,000 jobs, particularly in rural areas, through conservation, restoration, ecotourism and sustainable harvesting. When we invest in biodiversity, we invest in people, in livelihoods, in the future of our youth, and in the resilience of families and communities.

Today, I call on every sector represented here through government, business, academia, civil society, traditional leaders and local communities - to use the NBA 2025 as a guide for decision-making and investment.

Let us:

• Halt biodiversity loss,
• Restore degraded ecosystems,
• Tackle pollution at its source,
• Deepen and expand our investments in ecological infrastructure,
• And safeguard our Strategic Water Source Areas and freshwater flowing into the sea for generations to come.

We cannot afford to treat biodiversity conservation and sustainable use as an optional extra. It is fundamental to our water security, food systems, climate resilience, economic development and social wellbeing.

And it is everyone’s responsibility – whether you are working with your local community to clean up litter or to plant indigenous trees in greening programmes; whether you are a citizen scientist or a researcher collecting data; whether you are an educator; or whether you are a policy maker… we all have a role to play to ensure that Nature’s Contributors to People continue for generations.

In conclusion, let me once again congratulate SANBI, our scientists, our partners and every contributor to the National Biodiversity Assessment 2025. Your work empowers the nation. It equips all of us with the evidence we need to build a thriving, sustainable and inclusive future.

Let us move forward with confidence - and with urgency.

Because: …“The National Biodiversity Assessment gives us the knowledge to act - now it is up to all of us to turn this knowledge into lasting change for our planet and our people.”

I thank you.

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