biodiversity

National Marine Month is celebrated from 1 to 31 October in South Africa; it's a time when protecting the country's marine resources comes to the fore. One of the reasons to take action is because the oceans feed us. Learn more about our seas by viewing our gallery.

Grootbos Nature Reserve is one of five African destinations on National Geographic's Unique Lodges of the World list - three from South Africa and two from Tanzania. It has also been nominated for an international Tourism for Tomorrow Award for its conservation programmes.

South Africa's Working for Water programme, the largest public-funded project to eradicate invasive alien plants and improve water resources in the world, has created over 180 000 full-time jobs over the past two decades.

Greenpop plants trees, to beautify spaces, absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, and raise awareness of how important trees are to life on Earth.

Since 1973 the Endangered Wildlife Trust has been working to protect endangered African species from extinction. Its programmes balance humans' needs for resources against those of wild animals by sustainably conserving their habitats.

The UN has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity, and South Africa, with its wealth of natural treasures, is set to mark the event along with the rest of the world.

A world-class veterinary and environmental research centre serving the southern African region is to be established in Limpopo province.

South Africa set itself the target of increasing land under formal conservation from 5.4% in 1994 to 8% by 2010. The country is well on track, with close on 400 000 hectares having been added, and plans to designate a further 121 000 hectares - in what would be the single largest proclamation of land for the country's national parks since 1931.

South Africa and Namibia have signed a treaty establishing one of the largest conservation parks in southern Africa, spanning over 5 000 square kilometres and featuring the world's second-largest canyon, spectacular desert scenery, and one of the most species-rich arid zones in the world.

Whether you're looking for information on a seaslug named after Nelson Mandela or advice on how to deal with fig tree-eating beetles, Museum Online South Africa's Biodiversity Explorer will answer all your questions - and a lot more.