You are in : Features

Climate Change

Biodiversity management needed for climate solutions

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:10

Biodiversity management underpins the very essence of resource, economic and social sustainability. As global leaders and policymakers attempt to tackle climate change, priority must be given to the critical role of Biodiversity management practitioners to deliver on mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Earth's rich biological diversity has continuously been dealing with a changing climate, however not at the current rapid pace. Although South Africa has some of the world's most renowned Biodiversity specialists, the gradual and ad hoc development and retention of South African Biodiversity practitioners has regrettably not aligned to the urgency of our environmental needs.

According to the recently published National Development Plan: Vision for 2030 by the National Planning Commission (NPC) - water scarcity, pollution, food production and safety, and depleted fishing stocks are considered major national risks. Majority of these risks are monitored and managed by invaluable Biodiversity practitioners.

There exists a pool of unemployed graduates who have experienced difficulty in finding employment within Biodiversity organisations, several of whom have exited the discipline to pursue careers in other unrelated fields. There are various reasons for this. Many graduates are being inappropriately skilled, in courses that have not kept up with the changing demands in this dynamic field. Another reason is the financial resource constraints plaguing the sector, which has meant that organisations are unable to increase capacity, despite the need to deliver on expanding mandates.

In a recent Times article, Minister Edna Molewa stated that a 2009 costing exercise found a total conservation funding shortfall of approximately 47 percent, receiving between half and two-thirds of the funds it requires to be managed properly. This is an example of how Biodiversity functions that sustain the very life systems upon which our food, water and resource security fundamentally depend on, are negatively impacted.

The NPC report goes on to stress that South Africa's approach to adapting to the impact of climate change is to strengthen the nation's resilience, listing employment creation and promotion of skills development as two important success factors. The Biodiversity sector in general has seen a decline in qualification levels with the dominant qualification being a national diploma. An HSRC (2009) sector analysis estimated that more than 30% of people working within the Biodiversity sector were not qualified to take on the responsibilities for which they have been appointed.

It is therefore crucial that development of high level Biodiversity skills, linked to strategic environmental priorities, become a national imperative. These high level skills are key enablers to unlocking opportunities for job creation across all economic levels and most importantly, towards supporting South Africa's poverty eradication objectives. The poor, who markedly depend on biodiversity for their survival, suffer first and most severely from its degradation.

GreenMatter, a sector wide initiative, co-founded by the Lewis Foundation and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), is guided by an evolving 20 year human capital development strategy. Its systemic nature sees it championing approximately forty cross cutting initiatives.

Overall, GreenMatter is supporting the biodiversity sector as it seeks to contribute in a coherent and concerted manner to South Africa’s green economic transition. Without political, business and citizen support, we will only be scratching the surface in our efforts to invest in South Africa's green capital.

3 This is a critical time in our history, as South Africa is poised to either make the most of its natural resources for sustainable development, or risk increasing the loss of species and ecosystem services, at great cost to the economy, human livelihoods and future well-being.