Natural ecosystems and biodiversity feature centrally in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as reflected in its chief objective (Article 2):

“ The ultimate objective of this Convention and any related legal instruments that the Conference of the Parties may adopt is to achieve…stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system… within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner. ”

The prominence given to ecosystems in the UNFCCC underscores how much we rely on species and ecosystems for our survival and economic activities, and how vulnerable ecosystems are to anthropogenic stresses such as climate change, land transformation and invasive species spread.

Southern Africa is one of the world's most biologically diverse regions, with ecosystems under significant pressure that need to support the growing demands of developing countries. Biodiversity and conservation science need to quantify the vulnerability of species and ecosystems to the threat of land-use and climate changes, and to help design ways of adapting to their effects -- while at the same time providing information to local, national and regional users that will support adaptation to and mitigation of impacts. The Global Change & Biodiversity Programme works at local, provincial, national, regional and continental levels to provide this support.

For more information see South African Country Study on Climate Change

Publications

Staff

Research

• Climate change
• CO2
• Invasive species
• Integrated research & policy
• UV-B
• Birds & environmental change
• Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2 (SABAP2)