Page 2 - State of Biodiversity 2023-2024

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Biodiversity: Biodiversity is the term used to describe the variety of life on Earth and all natural processes. This includes ecosystem, genetic and cultural diversity and the connections between these and all species, including humans.
Biodiversity stewardship: Biodiversity stewardship is an approach to conserving biodiversity through the protection and sustainable management of land in priority biodiversity areas. This involves entering into agreements with private landowners, community members, and occupiers of communal land.
Climate change: Climate change refers to long-term alterations in temperature and weather patterns, which may occur naturally but have been significantly driven by human activities since the 1800s.
Ecological restoration: Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of aiding the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. Unlike conservation, which focuses on preventing further degradation, ecological restoration aims to reverse the damage and return the ecosystem to a more natural or functional state.
Ecosystem services: Ecosystem services are the benefits provided by healthy biodiversity to all living things. There is growing recognition of the value of ecosystem services to human well-being in terms of health, social, cultural and economic needs. Read more about ecosystem services on Page 7 of this report.
EThekwini Municipality: EThekwini Municipality is a metropolitan municipality, created in 2000, that includes the city of Durban and surrounding towns.
“ In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” – Baba Dioum
Produced: January 2025
© eThekwini Municipality, 2025
Compiled with major contributions by: Cameron McLean, Pr. Sci. Nat., Senior Specialist Ecologist; Nolwazi Ngcobo, Graduate Intern; Sindiswa Simelane, Senior GIS Technician; and Winile Mchunu, Graduate Intern, all from Biodiversity Planning, Biodiversity Management Department (BMD)
Reviewed by: Sabelo B. Nkosi, Pr. Sci. Nat. & Reg. EAP, Senior Manager, Biodiversity Planning, BMD ii STATE OF BIODIVERSITY REPORT 2023/2024