Sanbi’s National Biodiversity Assessment enters its digital era

Image credit: Tanya Paquet on Unsplash

Sanbi says that this year's assessment is digital-first and utilises the tools of the information age – offering open access to datasets, analytical scripts, and numerous linked resources.
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NBA 2025 tracks the state and trends of ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity across South Africa’s terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine, and marine realms – as well as the subantarctic Prince Edward Islands and the cross-realm coastal zone.
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The assessment drew on the expertise of over 490 experts from more than 110 institutions.
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Bizcommunity caught up with Dr Farai Tererai, Sanbi's director for biodiversity assessments, to touch on NBA 2025’s findings, entering the information age, and the role of business in protecting South Africa’s biodiversity.

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Looking back on the 20 years since the first NBA, what has changed since then?

A lot has changed. The first NBA in 2005 was a blueprint of what a detailed NBA could be.
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At that point, we were exploring the possibility of producing a national biodiversity assessment.
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When you look at what we have published since 2011 and 2018, there's been a huge increase in the quality of the information that finds expression in the NBA.
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As well as in the depth of analysis that we're conducting.
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The data in the NBA has hugely improved because of our ongoing monitoring efforts.
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And then, of course, the trajectory of the pressures on biodiversity has also increased over time.
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However, we have put a lot of effort into conserving and promoting the sustainable use of biodiversity in response to some of the current challenges.

What were some of the most exciting findings in the NBA 2025?

I think that there are a number of positive findings.

Oftentimes, people get excited only by what is positive, but there's also the negative.

But to me, that is exciting too.

If we look at our threshold ecosystems, our estuaries, and our wetlands, you’ll find that there's been continuous pressure on them.

But this is exciting in the sense that you can only react and manage what you want. If you don't know what it is, you cannot manage that.

Secondly, when you look from a positive side, you look at the species. Protection has improved for some species, and I think that's really amazing.

Which were the most concerning?

I think the most concerning finding is that the challenges to our ecosystems and genetic diversity have not necessarily slowed down.

We need a concerted effort from all stakeholders across the divide to intervene in some of these challenges.

How can businesses support the government in protecting biodiversity?

This is a very important question! Business has a huge role to play.

If you look at most businesses, think of agriculture, think of mining, think of even those that are in tourism service sectors.

They are really dependent on biodiversity; think of the pressures that are on some of these ecosystems.

A brewery, for example, would definitely be concerned about water pollution, because its operations are water-intensive.

Lately, there's been a drive for businesses to disclose their impact on biodiversity.

Business definitely has a big role in contributing resources to conservation, but also in minimising impact.

This year sees the launch of an NBA website. What role does technology play in ensuring conservation in South Africa?

Technology has a central role in biodiversity.

The fact that we are publishing the first online NBA is an exciting development, because it gives power to the output — power in terms of the data, power in terms of the level of analysis we are putting out there, power in terms of transparency.

We are now in the information age.

I believe advocacy is one of the biggest influences in terms of getting action, in terms of good, green deeds, nature, and positive actions.

Young people are the most influential. But the only way we can catch young people is if we present information in a way that appeals to them.

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And finally, what’s the future of biodiversity in South Africa?

There's no question about the value and the future of our biodiversity for many of us, including communities.
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When you think of food security, water security, or even business sustainability, all of that is dependent on biodiversity.
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If we don't conserve biodiversity, we're definitely destroying our future.

To learn more about Sanbi's NBA 2025, check out the website here.