NBA 2025 Webinar Series Continues on the International Day for Biological Diversity
The National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) 2025 webinar series continues with its sixth session, focusing on an often overlooked but essential component of biodiversity: genetic diversity.
Taking place on 22 May 2026, which coincides with the International Day for Biological Diversity, the webinar will explore why genetic diversity matters, how it supports healthy ecosystems and resilient species populations, and how South Africa is beginning to track and assess genetic diversity through the NBA 2025.
Biodiversity is commonly understood in terms of ecosystems and species, but genetic diversity forms the foundation of life itself. It enables species to adapt to changing environmental conditions, resist disease, maintain healthy populations, and survive long term environmental pressures such as climate change, habitat loss, pollution, and overexploitation. Without sufficient genetic diversity, species become more vulnerable to extinction and ecosystems less resilient.
The National Biodiversity Assessment 2025, led by the South African National Biodiversity Institute, is the first NBA to include international indicators for genetic diversity. The assessment brings together the best available science on the status of South Africa’s biodiversity to support policy, planning, conservation action, and sustainable development.
South Africa is one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries and hosts extraordinary levels of species richness, endemism, and ecosystem diversity. The NBA 2025 highlights the importance of ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity in supporting livelihoods, water security, climate resilience, food systems, tourism, and human wellbeing.
This webinar will provide:
- A general overview of genetic diversity and why it is important
- The history of genetic diversity within the NBA
- An introduction to the four genetic diversity indicators and how they complement one another
- A deeper look at each indicator and the findings emerging from NBA 2025
- Key take-home messages and future directions for biodiversity monitoring and conservation
The session forms part of broader national and global efforts to improve biodiversity monitoring and strengthen evidence-based conservation action. As countries work towards implementing the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, understanding and conserving genetic diversity is becoming increasingly important.
By hosting this webinar on the International Day for Biological Diversity, the NBA 2025 series highlights the need for collective action to safeguard biodiversity at all levels — from genes and species to ecosystems and landscapes.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Webinar details:
Date: 22 May 2026
Time: 13:00 – 13:45
Join the webinar: Microsoft Teams Webinar Link
Learn more about the National Biodiversity Assessment on the NBA Portal.