Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister, Ms Barbara Creecy, has published the Revised National list of Ecosystems that are threatened and in need of protection.
The list has been published in the government Gazette 47526 (Notice No.689) on 18 November 2022 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA).
By listing the ecosystems that are threatened or in need of protection, anyone wanting to undertake any activity will require environmental authorisation to do so. The List of Ecosystems is used to support decision making and to inform bioregional planning.
The Revised National list of Ecosystems was developed between 2016 and 2020 and incorporates the best available information on terrestrial ecosystem extent and condition, pressures and drivers of change.
10% of Ecosystems Under Threat
A total of 120 of the 456 terrestrial ecosystem types assessed are categorised as threatened. Together these threatened ecosystem types make up approximately 10% of the remaining natural habitat in the country. Of the 120 terrestrial ecosystems 55 are Critically Endangered, 51 Endangered and 14 have been found to be Vulnerable.
According to the revised list and maps, the remaining natural extent of threatened terrestrial ecosystems has increased from 8% of the country to 10%, as a result of ongoing habitat loss and threats from invasive species over the past 20 years.
Threatened ecosystem types can be found in all provinces, but are concentrated in the Fynbos biome of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal’s Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, the Albany Thicket biome of the Eastern Cape, the Highveld Grasslands, and Savanna biome.
Details on the assessment methodology, input data used and full results can be viewed at http://ecosystemstatus.sanbi.org.za
