Biodiversity describes the variety of life in an area, including:
- the number of different species
- the genetic wealth within each species
- the interrelationships between them
- the natural areas where they occur.
South Africa has a wide range of climatic conditions and many variations in topography, and our seas straddle three oceans. As a result, the country has an immensely rich species diversity. With a land surface area of 1,2 million km2 - representing just 1.24% of the earth's total land surface - South Africa contains almost 10% of the world's total known bird, fish and plant species, and over 6% of the world's mammal and reptile species. This natural wealth is threatened by growing human populations and their demands on the environment.
On land, our seven broad vegetation zones, together with their associated animal life, are called biomes. These are the Succulent Karoo, Nama Karoo, fynbos, forest, grassland, savanna and thicket biomes. Three globally recognised biodiversity hotspots are found in South Africa: the Cape Floral Kingdom or
Cape Floristic Region (equivalent to the fynbos biome), Succulent Karoo (shared with Namibia) and the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany centre of endemism (Maputaland-Pondoland is shared with Mozambique and Swaziland).
Major pressures on biodiversity in South Africa include loss and degradation of natural habitat, in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; invasive alien species; over-harvesting of species, especially in the marine environment; over-abstraction of water; and climate change.
