Role:

To promote and conserve our biological diversity and cultural heritage and ensure the sustainable utilisation of resources for the benefit of the people of South Africa.

Components:

This chief directorate consists of two directorates, namely:

• Directorate: Biodiversity Management

The directorate supports 3 subdirectorates: Biodiversity management integration, Biodiversity utilisation and Conservation management

Mission:

The Directorate of biodiversity management seeks to conserve the diversity of landscapes, ecosystems, habitats, communities, populations, species and genes in South Africa. At the same time the directorate aims to ensure that biological resources are used sustainably, to minimise adverse impacts on the biological diversity and to ensure that benefits derived from the use and development of South Africa's genetic resources serve national interests. In addition, Biodiversity Management aims to expand the human capacity to conserve biodiversity, to manage its use and to address factors threatening it. This will be achieved by creating conditions and incentives that support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

• Directorate: Cultural Resource Management
  

Mission:

The directorate seeks to ensure the integration of Cultural Resources into equitable national and international environmental policy processes for the purpose of the sustainable use of such resources.

Objectives:

• To identify relevant research projects
• Develop principles which are gender sensitive and redress the absent perspectives of marginalised communities.
• Incorporate Cultural Resource Management guidelines into all relevant legislation and policies.
• Implement the national Cultural Resource Management strategy.
• Build and promote Cultural Resource Management capacity at national and provincial level.
• Develop institutional and community networks.