ABSTRACT
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the total variety of living organisms in all ecosystems, and the genetic difference between them and the ecosystems in which they occur. South Africa's biodiversity is increasingly threatened by human activities, which in turn threaten the very resource base upon which we depend. Agricultural biodiversity is declining at an accelerated rate in Southern Africa owing to increased demands from a rapidly growing population and increased competition for natural resources. Climate change, land-use and land-cover changes bring about habitat changes, losses and decline of biodiversity. Microorganisms exist in every niche on Earth, however, in South Africa there is a lack of research and a lack of legislation protecting the biodiversity of the microbial diversity, or of the microbial habitats. Department of Environmental Affairs includes existing and future economic opportunities of using biodiversity in its policies as incentives, and realizes the risk to ecological processes, which are necessary to sustainability.
