and so on, whereas today, there
are about 800 people from various
backgrounds (including scientists)
in the field in South Africa.”
In 2012, the South African
National Biodiversity Institute
(SANBI) commissioned a study
to establish what the threats to
South Africa’s biodiversity were.
They concluded that 48% of the
endangered environment were
wetlands: “We have lost over 60%
of wetlands in this country,” he
informs despondently.
Unfortunately, Fairall says, while
South Africa has “tremendous
plans”, it falls short when it
comes to implementing them and
he mentions the continuously
delayed Lesotho Highlands Water
Project (LHWP).
The
Lesotho
Highlands
Development Authority (LHDA)
recently
announced
Phase
ll, which will mainly include
construction of the Pohili
Dam that should have been
“We have lost over 60% of
wetlands in this country.”
The Cape clawless otter is resident to all of South Africa’s wetlands, relying heavily on
the (once) abundant food supply, which is now under threat through urbanisation.