The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is legally mandated to manage biodiversity information. The effective management of information underpins research, decision-making, policy advice and monitoring.

What we do

The Biodiversity Information Management Directorate and the Biodiversity Planning and Mainstreaming Directorate have been merged to form the Biodiversity Information and Planning Directorate. The aim of the directorate is to mobilise and publish biodiversity information so that it is freely available for end users.

Further to its legal mandate, SANBI must provide science-based policy to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and other organs of State, related to information management and spatial planning. SANBI’s internet based information resources are accessed through the Biodiversity Advisor.

Where we work

BIP works across SANBI and South Africa with a network of partners. There is a regional (southern Africa and Africa) and global component to the work.

Reason for our programme

The Biodiversity Information and Planning Directorate (BIP) was established to effectively organise our biodiversity information and to make it universally available and useful.

What we have achieved

The BIP directorate has succeeded in providing a valuable service to SANBI and to the sector. It has developed products that are highly regarded and available through the Biodiversity Advisor website, with spatial data served through the Biodiversity GIS website and primary data through the SABIF website.

The BIP Directorate has established international, regional and national partnerships through its programmes.

The former Biodiversity Planning Programme has been responsible for contributing to the development of the National Biodiversity Spatial Assessment (NBSA) 2004 and National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) 2012. The new BIP team hopes to continue in this stream, and develop an updated and authoritative national biodiversity assessment in the next 5 years.

Director: Jeff Manuel

Finance and administration:
Gloria Cupido
Tel.: +27 (0)21 799 8858

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