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A White paper on the conservation and sustainable use of South Africa’s biological diversity July 1997

Human activities such as pollution, habitat destruction, over-exploitation and foreign plant and animal invasions are resulting in the ever-increasing loss of the earth's biological wealth (biodiversity). If continued unabated, we stand to

    lose crucial life-support systems through the loss of important habitats
    undermine rural livelihoods, with the degradation of the natural resource base on which people depend
    diminish economic opportunities, as options for developing medicines and foods are reduced and the natural resource base for tourism is damaged.

The South African Government has three overriding priorities:

    the eradication of poverty
    the sustainable development of its economy
    the social development of its people

Objectives of the International Convention of Biological Diversity:

    The conservation of biological diversity
    The sustainable use of biological resources
    The fair an equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources

A biodiversity policy and strategy, supported by 6 GOALS, will promote the reconstruction and development of South Africa through the following:

    protect and maintain essential ecosystem services and biological resources required to meet basic human needs;
    ensure ecologically sustainable economic development
    provision of jobs related to the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of biological resources;
    ensure that opportunities derived from the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of biological resources favour the poor;
    develop human resources necessary to conserve biodiversity and use biological resources sustainably; and
    increase participation in the institutions of civil society engaged in conserving and using biodiversity