HOST:
For her diverse concentration of both land and marine wildlife， the Republic of
South Africa has been ranked as one of the world’s １７ mega-diverse countries，
which contain the majority of the Earth’s species.

Mr Fundisile Mketeni (m): 
South Africa is a mega-diverse country.
We are number three in the world after Brazil and Indonesia， as mega-diverse.

HOST:
One of the crucial marine species native to South Africa， as well as neighboring Namibia， is the Cape fur seal. By the early ２０th century， Cape fur seal populations of southern Africa were decimated due to culling. Fortunately， in １９９０， the previous South African government suspended the cruel practice. The present South African government has continued to honor
the suspension of killing seals， thus allowing their numbers to recover within its borders.

Mr Fundisile Mketeni (m):
Yes， we continued with the good work for various reasons.  We do look at species， we do look at ecosystems. Therefore， in this context of seal conservation， we looked at both. We looked at the numbers and then we looked at their colonies. Hence， we feel that it’s our job and our mandate to conserve our heritage， our biodiversity， our future. We’ll continue with this as long as the species are threatened out there.