Deputy Minister Narend Singh: Biological Diversity

By Deputy Minister Narend Singh International Day for Biological Diversity 2026, Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre, 22 May 2026

Theme: “Acting locally for global impact”

Programme Director, Honourable Ewan Botha, MEC for Environment in Gauteng;
Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts, Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment;
Ms Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity;
Cllr Bheke Stofile, President of the South African Local Government Association;
Cllrr Siyabonga Moloi, MMC for Community Services, City of Ekurhuleni;
Mr Jafta Raphadu, Chairperson of People and Parks;
Director-General, Ms Nomfundo Tshabalala;
Deputy Director - General , Ms Flora Mokgohloa;
Traditional leaders and traditional health practitioners;
CEOs of Entities - Mr Shonisani Munzhedzi (SANBI), Dr Mmaphaka Tau, & Ms Hopiloe Sello (SANParks);
Heads of Provincial Departments of Environment;
Esteemed Traditional Leaders and Traditional Health Practitioners;
International delegates;
Community Representatives;
Colleagues from conservation agencies and non-governmental organisations;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen

We gather here today to commemorate the International Day for Biological Diversity celebrated globally on 22 May annually to mark the adoption of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity on 22 May 1992. The commemoration also provides an opportunity to foster wide support for the implementation of the Convention, its Protocols and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in December 2022. South Africa is honoured to be the first official host of the International Day for Biological Diversity.

This gathering also represents the culmination of important engagements held over the past several days, including the Biodiversity Governance Lekgotla and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan consultative processes. These engagements have helped build momentum towards today’s Global Flagship Event and have reinforced the importance of moving from policy commitment to implementation.

IDB is not only a celebration of nature. It constitutes a universal moment to demonstrate that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is underway. The theme for this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity, “Acting locally for global impact,” is a call for us all to take action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Protecting biodiversity includes action close to home with positive ripple effects that can reach far beyond.

Global ecological survival does not begin in international conferences, it begins in our backyards, our cities, and our local community actions. Our survival depends on shifting from exploiting nature to acting as stewards who work with it. Our natural world is not an endless resource, but a life-support system on which civilization fundamentally relies. Nature provides every basic need—from the air we breathe and the water we drink to the microorganisms that enrich our soils. We, as humanity, are the ultimate custodians of earth. By protecting and utilizing our earth’s natural resources sustainability, we are actively protecting ourselves – safe guarding our persistence into the future.

This 22 May 2026 comes just months before the critical Seventeenth UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan, Armenia, in October 2026. Today is our global launchpad to accelerate field-level progress.

Every local conservation victory directly advances the 23 global targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The Framework is humanity's emergency strategy to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

South Africa is updating its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) to fully align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), translating the 23 global KMGBF targets into domestic milestones. The process is led by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

Whilst the NBSAP will serve as the primary mechanism for meeting international obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, national implementation will be guided by the White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa's Biodiversity, ensuring a holistic approach to conservation, sustainable use, and equitable benefit sharing.

When world leaders signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), they underscored the power of the "Whole-of-Society" Approach - that they cannot execute it alone. Real transformation relies entirely on an inclusive Whole-of-Society Approach. Local communities are frontline guardians protecting over 80% of our planet’s remaining biological wealth. Local urban authorities dictate zoning, create green infrastructure, and minimize single-use pressures. Youths and civil society organizations turn abstract environmental policy into actual river cleanups and indigenous tree plantings. Private sectors must move toward circular economic models and eliminate supply chains linked to habitat destruction.

I am particularly encouraged by the meaningful participation of young people throughout this process. Youth have not been observers on the margins; they have been part of the discussions, the programme and the broader conversation on how we protect biodiversity for the future.

This is important because biodiversity conservation is fundamentally an intergenerational responsibility. The decisions we take today will determine the quality of the environment, the strength of our ecosystems and the opportunities available to future generations.

Young people bring urgency, innovation and honesty to these discussions. Their participation reminds us that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and our National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan must speak not only to current needs, but also to the future we are building.

The official International Day for Biological Diversity 2026 Logo Visual Identity uses expanding fingerprint lines to demonstrate how community projects radiate outwards to heal global systems. Local action means restoring degraded urban wetlands, removing invasive alien species, and creating urban pollinator corridors. Conservation works best when it builds local economies.

At the heart of this year’s theme; South Africa’s National Biodiversity Stewardship Programme is a people centered innovation and conservation mechanism which empowers local communities to actively manage and conserve natural resources, transforming grassroots environmental care into meaningful global impact. Biodiversity stewardship enables effective ecological restoration and long-term biodiversity conservation, contributing to national and international commitments. By securing community land rights, adopting sustainable practices, and aligning with international conservation targets, local stewards protect vital ecosystems while directly combating global biodiversity loss and climate change. Local stewardship directly translates on-the-ground efforts into progress for overarching international frameworks, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: By expanding community-managed conservation areas, local stewards directly contribute to the global goal of protecting 30% of the planet's land and inland waters by 2030.

On Climate Change Mitigation, Indigenous and local communities manage lands that store massive amounts of carbon. Protecting these forests and wetlands prevents greenhouse gas emissions and preserves crucial carbon sinks. Biodiversity stewardship addresses broader national development goals, contributing to disaster risk reduction, water security, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods beyond its conservation mandate.

Biodiversity stewardship drives sustainable economic growth by protecting natural capital, attracting investment, and enabling nature finance and biodiversity economy opportunities. Biodiversity Stewardship has created an enabling environment for significant financial investment into the environmental sector.

In addition to the regular government subsidies, biodiversity stewardship has enabled an investment of $64,5 million from large multilateral sources (Global Environment Facility) and international funds (Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund) and a further R197,5 million from local conservation funds over the past two decades. This investment focused primarily on securing protected and conservation areas, underpinned by improving financial management models on biodiversity, wildlife and restoration economies making further contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Enhanced confidence in the biodiversity stewardship mechanism has generated further unquantified private investment, in the order of millions of Rands, from both corporate and individual landowners pursuing conservation security for their land. An approximate R562 million, in tax benefits has been granted to landowners participating in biodiversity stewardship across 24 sites, covering a total area of 65,760 ha.

The Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER) (2016-2024) reveals a significant and growing finance gap for South Africa’s biodiversity undermining the country’s capability to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity. Insufficient financial resourcing is one of the key constraints to biodiversity stewardship, despite it being a cost-effective way to support and expand protected areas and job creation.

South Africa’s marine biodiversity is globally significant due to its unique position at the convergence of the cold Benguela and warm Agulhas currents, creating diverse marine habitats that support exceptional species richness and endemism. Ranked third globally for marine species endemism, the country is home to more than 30 species of whales and dolphins, among the world’s highest diversity of sharks and rays, and the rare coelacanth, often referred to as a “living fossil”.

Beyond its ecological importance, South Africa’s oceans play a critical socio-economic role. The fisheries sector contributes significantly to livelihoods, food security, employment, and economic growth, particularly within coastal communities, through commercial, small-scale, and subsistence fisheries, as well as exports such as abalone, crayfish, and hake.

As we commemorate the International Day for Biological Diversity 2026, we are reminded of the importance of balancing marine conservation with sustainable and inclusive ocean-based development for the benefit of present and future generations.

The National Biodiversity Economy Strategy, presents a significant opportunity for inclusive growth and investment. Greater investment is needed in biodiversity-based enterprises, including the use of innovative financing and incentive-based mechanisms that ensure meaningful returns for communities. Conservation must deliver both ecological and socio-economic benefits if it is to be sustainable in the long term.

This is therefore a strong call to the international community and other sectors here today to identify the need to, and provide support in mobilising resources that support safe and sustainable coexistence between communities and wildlife.

Biodiversity stewardship empowers communities as owners and co-managers of conservation, creating inclusive pathways to improved livelihoods and local economic development. At the Babanango Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, biodiversity stewardship has enabled conservation that translates into significant development outcomes and tangible socio-economic benefits for surrounding communities.

The reserve has created approximately 280 diverse employment opportunities for neighbouring communities through ecosystem restoration and enterprise development. This demonstrates how conservation can drive inclusive rural development and attract investment opportunities that benefit people adjacent to protected areas.

Similarly, the Bela Bela Communal Property Association (CPA), in Limpopo province has created employment opportunities for approximately 280 people, further illustrating how biodiversity stewardship can directly improve livelihoods while strengthening community participation in conservation and the biodiversity economy.

The Bela Bela CPA is also committed to youth and women empowerment, employing young women at its highly automated egg production farm, which produces 150,000 eggs per day. The CPA also provides targeted training and empowerment programmes for young people to strengthen skills development. Through a partnership with the University of Venda, the CPA supports work-integrated learning opportunities for agricultural students to build practical experience and future career pathways in the agricultural sector.

Biodiversity stewardship contributes to the biodiversity economy by supporting enterprises in ecotourism, the wildlife economy and bioprospecting. Sustainable harvesting and use of natural resources improves local livelihoods while protecting critical ecosystems. Biodiversity stewardship can potentially shift communities from being passive beneficiaries to active landowners, partners, and custodians of biodiversity conservation outcomes.

In order to sustain these gains, it is important to significantly intensify efforts and support upscale biodiversity stewardship programmes in rural communal land, to enhance biodiversity economy opportunities that benefit communities, while safeguarding biodiversity and our cultural heritage. Biodiversity stewardship is a proven pathway for inclusive rural development and community-based natural resource management that enhances ecosystem resilience.

It is important to develop an appropriate and structured value offering to communities, to enable them to identify their socio-economic needs from these initiatives. Long-term financing, governance support, and biodiversity-based value chains must be strengthened to enable communities to lead conservation and build sustainable local economies.

To support communities in managing biodiversity stewardship sites, preferential support should be secured from government-led Environmental Programmes such as the Environmental Protection and Infrastructure Programme (EPIP), the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), Land User Incentives, and other related support programmes. Furthermore, collaborations with the private sector should be strengthened to solicit support and funding through their Corporate Social Investment (CSI) programmes.

As host of the CBD Technical and scientific Cooperation Centre (TSCC), South Africa demonstrates its commitment to advancing the objectives of the CBD and contributes meaningfully to the theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity by strengthening regional and global cooperation for implementation. Through the TSCC, South Africa facilitates technical assistance, knowledge exchange, capacity development, peer learning, and access to expertise to support countries in translating global biodiversity commitments into national action.

By creating platforms for collaboration among governments, scientific institutions, communities, and development partners, South Africa supports accelerated implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This leadership role reflects South Africa’s commitment to solidarity, innovation, and collective action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss while promoting conservation, sustainable use, and equitable sharing of benefits from biodiversity for present and future generations.

Biodiversity provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food systems we depend on, and the climate stability we require to live.

Let us therefore not treat the 2030 targets and 2050 goals as distant ambitions. Let us treat every indigenous tree planted, every wetland restored, every invasive species removed, every community stewardship initiative supported, and every young person empowered as part of the global response.

South Africa’s message today is clear: local action matters. Community action matters. Youth action matters. Partnership matters.

If we act locally, with purpose and urgency, we can contribute meaningfully to global impact.

I thank you.

#GovZAUpadtes