South Africa is renowned for being one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world – meaning that we are counted amongst nations with the greatest variety of plant and animal species.

South Africa’s biodiversity consists of approximately 5% of mammals, 7% of birds, 4% of reptiles, 2% of amphibians, 1% of freshwater fish and 16% of shark, skate and ray species worldwide.

In addition to having a great variety of flora and fauna, we also hold the 10^th position globally for the number of different plant species found within specific habitats, landscapes and regions.

At least 5 000 species of plants can only be found in South Africa, and nowhere else in the world! A few examples of these include charming species like the red disa, bird of paradise flower, Cape everlasting and our national flower – the king protea.

Of the 35 biodiversity hotspots in the world, three are found on our own soil. If the Cape Floristic Region and the Succulent Karoo come to mind, you’ve got them right. The third one which is less spoken about is the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot, which follows the eastern coastline of southern Africa and includes South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique.

If you’ve have had the fortune to visit Namaqualand or South Africa’s West Coast region around this time (mid-August to mid-September) you might have experienced the diversity of this landscape when it is covered with a multi-coloured carpet of wildflowers. Yet these only form a small portion of the plant species in the Succulent Karoo biome. It has the world’s richest flora of succulent plants, mostly leaf succulents, and contains about one-third of the world’s approximately 10 000 succulent species.

The Cape Floristic Region is the smallest, yet richest, of the six plant kingdoms worldwide and the only one found within a single country. The area, which extends across the Western Cape and parts of the Northern and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, from Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) to Cape Town and north towards Nieuwoudtville, contains 20% of Africa’s flora. Plus, it is home to over 9 000 species of plants, of which about 6 200 are only found here in South Africa.

Table Mountain, which forms part of the Cape Floristic Region, supports 2 200 plant species - more than the entire United Kingdom alone!

The high diversity of species in South Africa goes beyond the landscapes into the ocean where we have 10% of the world’s coral species and a quarter of octopus, squid and cuttle fish species worldwide!

About 40% of an estimated 10 000 species are found only in our waters. This puts us in the third position for having the highest marine species endemism.

As South Africans, we have a lot to be proud of and grateful for when it comes to biodiversity compared to the rest of the world. This biodiversity supports all of us, and it keeps our natural systems functioning and healthy. Sadly, we are wiping out the very diversity of nature on which we depend and the resources we assume will always be around.

But it is not too late. We can work together to restore and regenerate our biodiversity.

Join WWF for a virtual conference from 24 to 26 August where we will be diving into the beautiful realm of biodiversity – and the benefits of bending the curve for biodiversity loss.